Born in Wisconsin, Black began his career at the Chicago Art Academy in 1906, developing skills in illustration, sculpture, and painting. Between 1908 and 1925, he balanced life in Chicago and New York with summer painting trips to the American West. In 1925, seeking a better climate for his health, he moved his family to Taos, New Mexico. 

In Taos, Black focused on Southwest Indian subjects. While he secured commissions and sales to Tiffany & Co., his reserved personality and impressionistic style—then out of fashion—prevented him from gaining immediate fame. It wasn’t until the late 1930s that his work received significant recognition. 

Continued health issues drove Black to Phoenix in 1937. Despite the Depression-era struggle, he found work with the Works Progress Administration (WPA), collaborating with Oscar Edmund Berninghaus on a massive mural for the Phoenix main post office depicting Arizona’s progress.

Black’s work, such as "The Deer Hunters," reflects the influence of his New Mexico peers, blending a Berninghaus-inspired palette with compositions reminiscent of W. Herbert Dunton. His paintings are celebrated for their rich, realistic depictions of the high desert. Today, Black’s rare works are highly prized by collectors and featured in prominent public and private national collections.

Source: askArt