Raymond Steth

Raymond Steth (1917 - 1997), born Raymond Ryles, was a Philadelphia-based graphic artist approved for his paintings and lithographs on the African-American condition in the mid-20th century, often through scenes of rural liveliness and poverty. Working below the Works Progress Administration's graphics hostility in the 1930s and 1940s, Steth's art covered a range of topics and emotions from acceptable farm computer graphics to upheaval and despair.

Steth was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1917 to Lulu Mann and Charles Ryles, a working-class farming family. He spent much of his childhood upon a large farm in North Carolina, which would cutting edge influence his artwork. Rolando Corpus notes: "Steth had a religious upbringing within the Pentecostal faith. 'The frenetic melody of the church,' he recalled, 'was such that they anything seemed ready to accumulate heaven.'" After upsetting to Philadelphia at age eight, Steth attended Central High School for two years. He afterward worked in sign painting and vaudeville theater. Steth was educated at the Philadelphia College of Art from 1941 until 1943, and the Barnes Foundation from 1942 to 1944.

Steth was allied with the American Scene movement, which included WPA artists concerned following contemporary social topics. Steth began lively in the graphics division of the WPA-sponsored Federal Art Project (FAP) in Philadelphia starting in 1938, where he met and collaborated once Dox Thrash, known for developing extra methods of Carborundum printmaking, who believed Steth's take steps could be transferred to a print medium. He as well as worked nearby Michael J. Gallagher, John Turner, and Claude Clark, a group like whom he would often exhibit his feat with. Steth shared a studio following Clark during their time in the WPA/FAP. He also associated with the artists Hubert Mesibov and Samuel Brown.

Post-WPA and military service, Steth continued his involvement similar to the arts and community causes: "Steth directed the Philographic School of Art, a printmaking and graphics workshop... Other jobs included helping encourage a print program at Morgan State College in Baltimore, catering, and involved for the Mayor's Office of Community Development." Additionally, he was in action with the Fleisher Art Memorial from 1948 until 1954, and taught at the Philadelphia College of Art from 1949 until 1951. He was later a resident at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.