Robert B Stull, a well-loved and deeply respected member of our family and artistic community, passed away April 17, 2025.
Born into a singularly talented family, Robert B Stull was son of the noted architect Donald L. Stull and dancer Patricia Stull. From earliest childhood, he was encouraged to develop his artistic talents. Inspired by his uncles ceramist Robert J. Stull and painter/designer Mahler Ryder, as well as his aunt Bettye Stull and his siblings, his art studies were strongly supported. He flourished and graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Thoughtful and thorough in his art practice, Stull excelled in his chosen field of specialized illustration, printing and comic book production. With early success, he opened his own studio—Ink on Paper. Known as a top penciler and inker, and respected for his masterful grasp of the universe of sequential, graphic novels and publications, Stull worked with all of the giants in the field producing sequential print heroic characters and comic books. Among his projects were Spider-man Adventures, and Iron Man for Marvel, Tellos for IMAGE, Firestorm of DC Comics as well as other adventures with Warner Brothers. To these should be added Black Comix: Afro-American Independent Comics, Art and Culture and the History of American Graffiti. Against this background of success, Stull was now able to work as an independent artist interpreting the space between comic books, graffiti art, hip-hop and popular culture.
Throughout his career, Stull cared deeply for the community of artists with whom he was associated. He was concerned that many black artists in his field were invisible despite their contributions. Always responsive to social injustices and concerns, he decided to do something about the situation. In 1994, he approached the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists with an idea that led to the exhibition Sequential Art: The Next Step which in one form or another would travel nationally for the next ten years. Sequential Art was a pioneering exhibition that in addition to elevating appreciation of comic book art also introduced the public to more than fifteen African American artists who were otherwise poorly known beyond the field. Stull’s curatorial contribution to this stellar project was pivotal.
In 2019, Stull became the first artist-in-residence at Boston’s prestigious Museum of Fine Arts leading to the co-creation of The Mural Project, an endeavor that responded to the exhibition Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation. Stull, through his artist-in-residence activities, opened the door on a new moment in the engagement of the Museum of Fine Arts with his generation. He continued that introspection and attention to socio-political content in the current works featuring in the exhibition Cancel Violence: Artists Speak on display at the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists through the summer of 2025.
When Stull’s memorial is set, we will post the time and place. The Stull family suggests that those wanting to honor Robert may contribute in his name to the National Center of Afro-American Artists through PayPal at www.ncaaa.org.
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