In April 2024, Herbert “Skip” Cole turned 89. The following conversation with him took place via telephone and email between December 2023 and April 2024. It is the first part of a series of Sankofa conversations with “elders” in the field (scholars, artists, curators) that will appear at irregular intervals in African Arts.
Peter Probst In 2020 you wrote a personal memoir for your family and friends in which you reflect upon your life and professional career as a scholar of African art history. Can we go briefly through the biographical key points? Let's start with your school years and the time you entered college.
Herbert M. Cole I grew up in the Boston suburb of Newton and attended public schools, then Phillips Academy, Andover, for three high school years before going to Williams College for my BA in 1957. After graduating as an American history and literature major and...