On the death of a chief, the Akan would say, “A frog's length is only apparent after death,”2 to suggest that a person's accomplishments are often not appreciated during their lifetime. Many who have contributed essays—and perhaps some of you readers—are only now coming to know the full measure of Doran Ross's accomplishments. After a forty-four-year friendship, working with Doran on some fifty-four exhibitions (of which thirty-one were African), traveling four continents together, and sharing many good times, I admit to being awed by the scope of his life—to wit, the depth of his passion, the breadth of his vision, and the generosity of his heart. I share my own reflections here as a colleague of some twenty-plus years and then as his partner for the next twenty. A man I greatly respected and immensely adored.
“God, I love life!” Doran would exclaim on the brightest—and yes, even darkest...