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Biography · Arts & Performance

Noah Purifoy

1917–2004

United States

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Biography

Noah S. Purifoy (August 17, 1917 – March 5, 2004) was an African-American visual artist and sculptor, co-founder of the Watts Towers Art Center, and creator of the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Art Museum. He lived and worked most of his life in Los Angeles and Joshua Tree, California. Purifoy was the first African American to enroll in Chouinard Art Institute as a full-time student and earned his BFA in 1956, just before his fortieth birthday.

Sources & collection details

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Black heritage reference ↗

Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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