A brief biography of Arthur Rose, submitted by his son, Arthur Rose, Jr :
 
The artist was born in Charleston, South Carolina on May 26, 1921.  He was one of eight siblings who attended the public schools of the city.  In November 1942, he left high school in the first semester of his senior year to enlist in the Navy.  He was active in the Navy until December 6, 1945, when he was honorably discharged.  He returned to complete high school, graduating in May of 1946.  After graduation, he enrolled at Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina. (He was the only sibling to attend school beyond high school.)  During those school years, he met and married his wife Elizabeth, also a student at Claflin.  The artist graduated from Claflin in 1950, entered New York University the following year, graduating with a master’s degree in art in 1952.  The same year, the artist returned to Claflin and became Chairman of the Art Department, where he served for 25 years.
 
“Until the mid 1960’s, Claflin was the only college in South Carolina where African Americans could get a degree in art.  Many of his students were poor and Rose was always there to lend a helping hand, often taking them home for meals, and providing them with art supplies.  Many of the gifted students who came under his guidance at Claflin went to graduate school and became both artists and educators.” (Source: 1995 South Carolina African-American History Calendar – Southern Bell 1994)
 
Commercial galleries in the south, and many other regions of the country barred African American artists from exhibiting their work, limiting access to and support from these and other institutions. As an alternative, the artist initiated an annual “Fence Exhibit” held along the front fence at Claflin during the mid 1950’s and 1960's to create an avenue for public display of his students’ art work.  In 1966, the artist entered Indiana University to pursue advanced studies, returning to Claflin in 1968 to resume teaching.
 
In 1977, the artist became artist in residence at Voorhees College, Denmark, South Carolina, where he served until 1985.  He returned to Claflin to serve as associate professor of art until his retirement in 1991.  “He was a one-man art department,” said one of Rose’s former students, Dr. Leo Twiggs (retired), Chairman of the art department of South Carolina State University.  “In his own unique way he has shaped the perspective of generations of black visual artists in his native state.  He has shaped their collective consciousness and through them and his students, his influence remains incalculable.” (Thomas Brown, “After ‘shaping perspective of generations,’ renowned artist Arthur Rose dies at 73,” Times and Democrat, 14 February 1995, sec. B, p. 1B.)  The artist died on February 13, 1995.
 
In his position as head of the Department of Art at Claflin University, the artist not only influenced developing artists, but also individuals in many other fields of endeavor. Many of these individuals were former students of the artist who were required to take art appreciation courses.  Many have shared how their exposure to art and art instruction, expanded their ability to think more creatively, and enhanced their visioning processes in their varying fields of endeavor.  They have also shared how the artist helped to expand their thinking, and lengthened perception of possibilities by challenging, encouraging and demanding the best from them.  The artist’s work, along with such details about his life, would be exhibited to serve as a concrete reminder of this educational function of art.