Deborah Willis (bɛ daa dɔɣi o la silimiin goli February dabaa anu dali yuuni 1948) nyɛla African-American nucheeni baŋda, anfoonima yaara, taarihi baŋda, sabira n-ti pahi shikuru baŋda.^[1] O pini puuni shɛli nyɛ yuuni 2000 MacArthur Fellow.^[2] Saha ŋɔ o nyɛla baŋda mini ʒi'ba zaŋ n-ti Department of Photography and Imaging shikuru yuli booni Tisch School of the Arts n-ti New York University.^[3] Yuuni 2024, pɛ daa piigi o American Philosophical Society.^[4]

Deborah Willis nyɛla bɛ ni daa dɔɣi so Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ban daa dɔɣi ŋɔ nyɛ Ruth mini Thomas Willis silimiin goli February dabaa anu dali yuuni 1948. Willis bia nyɛ nucheeni baŋda Hank Willis Thomas. O ba daa nyɛla anfoonima yaara ka o tumanima nyɛ Daddy's Ties: The Tie Quilt II (1992), and Progeny: Deborah Willis ni Hank Willis Thomas (2009).^[1]

Wilis' shɛhira gbana nyɛ B.F.A. in photography ka di daa yina shikuru yuli booni Philadelphia College of Art yuuni 1975; M.F.A. in photography from Pratt Institute yuuni 1979; M.A. in art history ka di daa yina City College of New York yuuni 1986;^[5] n-ti pahi Ph.D. ka di yina shikuru yuli booni George Mason University yuuni 2001.^[6][1]

Willis nyɛla ŋun daa pahi ninvuɣ shɛba ban daa piigi ban di Rome Prize yuuni 2023–24 cycle, ban daa nyɛ lala ʒia ŋɔ ʒi'banima nyɛ Naomi Beckwith mini Fred Wilson.^[7]

Willis nyɛla ŋun deegi pina pam, di shɛŋa nyɛ din doli na ŋɔ:

• 2023 Don Tyson Prize for the Advancement of American Art ^[8]
• 2023 Honorary Doctor of Humanities from Yale^[9]
• 2020 Award for Outstanding Service to Photography and Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society.
• 2013-2014: Richard D. Cohen Fellow in African and African American Art, Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, Harvard University^[10]
• 2005: Guggenheim Fellow, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation^[11]
• 2005: Fletcher Fellow, Fletcher Foundation^[12]
• 2003: Honorary doctorate, Maryland Institute College of Art^[13]
• 2000: MacArthur Fellow^[2]
• 1995: Infinity Award for Writing, International Center of Photography.^[14]

O ni nyɛ nucheeni baŋda mini anfooninima yaara, Willis nyɛla ŋun zani n-ti Bernice Steinbaum Gallery din be Miami^[15] mini Charles Guice Contemporary din be Berkeley, California.^[16] O "exhibitions" nyɛ din doli na ŋɔ:

• "Progeny," Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami, 2008.^[17] The exhibition traveled as "Progeny: Deborah Willis mini Hank Willis Thomas" yuuni 2009 n-ti New York mini Sacramento, California.^[18]
• "Regarding Beauty", University of Wisconsin–Madison, 2003 ka di daa chani ka ʒiri anfoonima.^[19]
• "Deborah Willis: Tied to Memory," Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, 2000.^[20]
• "Deborah Willis," Hughley Gallery & Objects, Atlanta, 1992, nyɛla din daa chani ni taarihinima amaa ka daa leei jandi anfooni taarihinima, kundinima n-ti pahi daŋ "snapshots."^[21]

• "Story Quilts: Photography and Beyond", Black Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, 1999, Pat Ward Williams, "exhibition" ŋɔ daa nyɛlaAfrican-American nucheeni baŋdiba ata tuma—Willis, Kyra E. Hicks n-ti pahi Dorothy Taylor.^[22]
• Tribute to the Hottentot Venus quilt, 1992.^[23][24]

"Exhibition" shɛŋa Willis ni niŋ nyɛ din doli na ŋɔ:

• "Posing Beauty in African American Culture," bɛ daa zaŋ li wuhi salo yuuni 2009 Tisch School of the Arts, New York University ka nyɛ bɛ ni pa niŋdi shɛli dunia zaa.
• "Reflections in Black," Arts and Industries Building, Smithsonian institution, Washington, DC, 2000, on African-American photography.^[25] Lala "exhibition" ŋɔ nyɛla din daa be U.S. yaɣa pam bin din gbaai yuuni 2000 mini yuuni 2003 sunsuun.^[26][27]
• "Constructed Images: New Photography," nyɛla o ni daa niŋ shɛli bin din gbaai yuuni 1989 mini yuuni 1992 sunsuun.^{[6][28][29][30]}

• Willis, Deborah (2021). The Black Civil War Soldier: A Visual History of Conflict and Citizenship. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 978-1-47980-900-4.
• Willis, Deborah; Krauthamer, Barbara (2012). Envisioning Emancipation: Black Americans and the End of Slavery. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-43990-985-0.
• Willis, Deborah; Hank Willis Thomas; Kalia Brooks (2009). Progeny: Deborah Willis and Hank Willis Thomas. New York: Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University. ISBN 978-1-884919-23-7.
• Willis, Deborah (2009). Posing Beauty: African American images from the 1890s to the present. New York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-06696-8.
• Willis, Deborah; Emily Bernard (2009). Michelle Obama: The First Lady in Photographs. New York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0393077476.
• Willis, Deborah; Kevin Merida (2008). Obama: the historic campaign in photographs. New York: Amistad. ISBN 978-0-06-173309-3.
• Willis, Deborah (2007). Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American portraits. Washington, DC: National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. ISBN 978-1-58834-242-3.
• Wallis, Brian; Deborah Willis (2005). African American Vernacular Photography: selections from the Daniel Cowin Collection. New York: International Center of Photography. ISBN 3-86521-225-5.
• Willis, Deborah (2005). Family History Memory: recording African American life. New York: Hylas. ISBN 1-59258-086-6.
• Willis, Deborah; Sean Moore; Karen Prince (2004). Black: a celebration of a culture. Irvington, NY: Hylas. ISBN 1-59258-051-3.
• Lewis, David L; Deborah Willis (2003). A Small Nation of People: W.E.B. Du Bois and African-American portraits of progress. New York: Amistad. ISBN 0-06-052342-5.
• Willis, Deborah; Carla Williams (2002). The Black Female Body: a photographic history. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 1-56639-928-9.
• Crouch, Stanley; Deborah Willis (2002). One Shot Harris: the photographs of Charles "Teenie" Harris. New York: Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 0-8109-3272-5.
• Willis, Deborah (2000). Reflections in Black: a history of Black photographers, 1840 to the present. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-04880-2.
• Cottman, Michael H; Deborah Willis; Linda Tarrant-Reid (1996). The Family of Black America. New York: Crown Trade Paperbacks. ISBN 0-517-88822-X.
• Willis, Deborah; Jane Lusaka (1996). Visual Journal: Harlem and D.C. in the thirties and forties. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 1-56098-691-3.
• Cottman, Michael H; Deborah Willis (1995). Million Man March. New York: Crown Trade Paperbacks. ISBN 0-517-88763-0.
• Willis, Deborah; Jane Lusaka (1994). Imagining Families: images and voices. Washington, DC: National African American Museum, a Smithsonian Institution Project. ISBN 1-885892-00-4.
• Willis, Deborah (1994). Picturing Us: African American identity in photography. New York: New Press. ISBN 1-56584-107-7.
• Driskell, David C; David L Lewis; Deborah Willis (1994). Harlem Renaissance: art of Black America. New York: Studio Museum in Harlem, Abradale Press. ISBN 0-8109-8128-9.
• Willis, Deborah (1993). J.P. Ball, daguerrean and studio photographer. New York: Garland. ISBN 0-8153-0716-0.
• Willis-Braithwaite, Deborah; Rodger C Birt (1993). VanDerZee, photographer, 1886–1983. New York: H.N. Abrams. ISBN 0-8109-3923-1.
• Willis, Deborah (1992). Early Black Photographers, 1840-1940: 23 postcards. New York: New Press. ISBN 1-56584-007-0.
• Willis, Deborah; Lorna Simpson (1992). Lorna Simpson. San Francisco: Friends of Photography. ISBN 0-933286-60-0.
• Willis, Deborah; Howard Dodson (1989). Black Photographers Bear Witness: 100 years of social protest. Williamstown, MA: Williams College Museum of Art. ISBN 0-913697-09-5.
• Willis-Thomas, Deborah (1989). An Illustrated Bio-bibliography of Black Photographers, 1940–1988. New York: Garland. ISBN 0-8240-8389-X.
• Driskell, David C; David L Lewis; Deborah Willis Ryan (1987). Harlem Renaissance: art of Black America. New York: The Studio Museum in Harlem, Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 0-8109-1099-3.
• Willis-Thomas, Deborah (1985). Black Photographers, 1840–1940: an illustrated bio-bibliography. New York: Garland. ISBN 0-8240-9147-7.

• Headley, Jennifer (2006). "Deborah Willis-Kennedy". In Warren, Lynne (ed.). Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Photography. New York: Routledge. pp. 1687–1689. ISBN 1-57958-393-8.

External videos
“A mother and son united by love and art”, Deb Willis and Hank Willis Thomas, November 2017, TEDx Talks

Tɛmplet:Library resources box

• Official website
• Berger, Maurice, ""Framing - and - Reflecting Beauty", Lens Blog, The New York Times, March 11, 2013,
• Tɛmplet:C-SPAN
• Finley, Cheryl, "Deborah Willis’s Writings and Exhibitions Have Shaped Scholarship on African-American Photography", ARTnews, January 14, 2020.
• Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University: "Carl Van Vechten: American Portraitist" exhibit materials, 1992 (curated by Deborah Willis)
• Deborah Willis professional files collection held by the New York Public Library Archives and Manuscripts Division