Born and raised in the South Side of Chicago, IL, John Yancey received his BFA in painting and drawing from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1980. After receiving the Patricia Roberts Harris Fellowship in 1991, Yancey attended Georgia Southern University where he received his MFA. Yancey relocated to Austin in 1993 to join the faculty at The University of Texas at Austin. He served as the Chair of the Department of Art and Art History from 2005–2011 and holds the John D. Murchison Regents Professorship in Art.


ProfessorYancey's work focuses in three main areas: paintings and drawings; community-based mural painting; and ceramic tile mosaic public art works. He directed his first community-based mural in 1976 and has completed numerous public art projects and commissions since that time. His murals are extensively featured in Walls of Heritage, Walls of Pride: African American Murals 1850-1995, Robin Dunitz and JamesPrighoff; Urban Art: Chicago; Olivia Gude and Jeff Huebner. His most recent projects include permanent public artworks for the Austin Convention Center, The Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center of San Antonio, and the monumental history and culture art wall, "Rhapsody" that occupies the Charles Urdy Plaza at 11th and Waller Streets as part of the restoration and revitalization of this historic street on Austin's East Side. In addition to his public art projects,Yancey continues to exhibit his paintings and drawings in gallery and museum venues. Professor Yancey has also lectured extensively on various aspects of African American art history at the Art Institute of Chicago, The Terra Museum of American Art in Chicago, The Dallas Art Museum, Waterloo Museum of Art, Austin Museum of Art, and numerous other museum venues.