Carol Jacobsen

Carol Jacobsen is an artist, author, and educator whose work uses portraiture and storytelling to celebrate African American women whose achievements have too often been overlooked.

She is the creator of the Women of Color and Accomplishment series, which includes six books, two coloring books, and five exhibition catalogs. Through colorful original portraits and accessible biographies, the series introduces readers to inspiring women who made important contributions in history, civil rights, education, business, science, the arts, and community life — often while facing barriers of race and gender.

The original three books in the series each feature portraits and biographies of 31 women. The second book, Women of Color and Accomplishment: Fighting for Equality, focuses on the long struggle for racial equality, from the years before the Civil War to the present. After taking a college course in African American history, Jacobsen was able to place many of these women’s lives within the larger historical context of the fight for freedom, justice, and equality.

The goal of the series is to encourage readers, families, teachers, and students to learn more about these remarkable women and the times in which they lived. Jacobsen’s books are designed to be both visually engaging and educational, making them useful for classrooms, libraries, community programs, and anyone interested in a fuller understanding of American history.

Royalties from the Women of Color and Accomplishment series support Canvas & Courage, a nonprofit Jacobsen founded to bring these books, portraits, and stories into classrooms and communities across the United States.

Jacobsen has been painting since childhood. She studied art at the University of Minnesota, where she earned a B.A., as well as at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, the College of Marin, and San Francisco State. Color has always been central to her work. As she writes of her art: “Whether I’m doing abstract or more realistic paintings, I always use color to express the feelings I want to convey.”

Her work has received Best of Show from the International Society of Acrylic Painters and has been featured in Artweek. Many of her paintings are held in corporate spaces and private collections in the United States and internationally.

Jacobsen is also the author of Painting With An Elephant, a children’s book inspired by four years of creating collaborative paintings with elephants in Thailand. The second edition was released in 2022.

Through her books, portraits, videos, and nonprofit work, Jacobsen hopes to inspire readers of all ages to keep learning, asking questions, and discovering the women whose stories deserve to be remembered.