Baker Artist Portfolios

Melvin Nesbitt Jr. is a Baltimore-based artist recognized for his expressive painted paper collages that explore themes of childhood, memory, race, and community. Influenced by the celebratory imagery of artists like Ernie Barnes, Johnny Lee Gray, and William H. Johnson, Nesbitt centers children in his work—capturing everyday moments of American life with warmth and emotional depth.
Growing up in a low-income neighborhood in South Carolina, Nesbitt draws from personal memory to construct layered narratives that reflect the complexities of race, poverty, and joy in Black communities. He combines painted surfaces with paper collage to evoke the texture of lived experience and the power of place and identity.
Nesbitt is a two-time recipient of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Fellowship (FY21 and FY22) and a DC Art Bank grantee. His original works have been acquired for public art collections in DC public schools, government buildings, hotels, libraries, and universities. He also illustrated the children’s book A Beard Like My Dad.
His art has been featured in numerous exhibitions and publications, including The Washington Post, Contemporary Collage Magazine, and Canvas Rebel. Through a distinct visual language, Nesbitt continues to expand the boundaries of collage and narrative art, offering a poignant, joyful, and reflective lens on African American life and resilience.