Throughout her life Ms. Montgomery has dedicated herself to the arts - whether by creating or helping others execute their visions while serving in various roles of arts advocacy.  Her work, represents an abstract exploration of color, form, and nature presented in a wide range of media.

In today’s art, often one has to combine many materials for the piece to take on the shape, color, and excitement one wishes the viewer to experience.  My inspiration comes from nature first, and second from the twisted rubble and discarded forms left by man against the beautiful forms of nature.

Black Artists on Art v. 1, 86.  

Evangeline Montgomery was born in New York City in 1933. In 1955, she moved to Los Angeles where she worked for Thomas Usher, an African American jewelry designer. She attended Los Angeles City College and went on to earn a BFA from the California College of Arts & Crafts where she specialized in metallurgy.

In 1967, Montgomery began working as an independent curator - throughout her career, she has organized more than 150 exhibitions in museums, university galleries, and art centers. She served as the curator for the Rainbow Sign Gallery in Berkeley, California. Later, as Black Arts Consultant for the Oakland Museum, she was responsible for curating a major retrospective of the work of Sargent Johnson as well as an exhibition entitled, California Black Craftsmen. In addition, she lent her expertise in helping the museum develop a collection of African American art. Between 1976 and 1979, she served as the San Francisco Art Commissioner. She moved to Washington D.C. in 1980 to pursue a career with the Department of State as a program development officer for Arts America.

Montgomery continued to create and show her work throughout her career. Her work has been included in numerous solo and group exhibitions including;

Memories Revealed: Current Works by E.J. Montgomery, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD, 2010

Evangeline J. Montgomery, Bowie State College, 1973

Evangeline J. Montgomery: On the Threshold, Secret Places, National Conference of Artists Gallery, 1998

Our Common Bond: Mother, Daughter, Sister, Self, Galerie Myrtis, Baltimore, MD, 2009

Local Color: 17 Black Bay Area Artists, Fiberworks Center for the Textile Arts, Berkeley, CA, 1978

From Challenge to Triumph: African American Prints and Printmaking, 1867-2002, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art, Brooklyn, NY, 2003.

Tradition Redefined: The Larry and Brenda Thompson Collection of African American Art, David C. Driskell Center, University of Maryland, 2009

Successions: Prints by African American Artists from the Jean and Robert Steele Collection, University of Maryland, 2002.

New Perspectives in Black Art, Kaiser Center Gallery, Oakland, CA, 1968.  (curator)