Staff Report
Published June 18, 2012

Luther J. Battiste III has been named the new board of trustees’ president of the Columbia Museum of Art.

Battiste is an attorney and the managing shareholder of Johnson, Toal and Battiste P.A. He has served as president of the Columbia Lawyers Association and was the first African-American president of the Richland County Bar Association, the South Carolina Association for Justice and the Southeastern Region of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

He serves on the national board of the American Board of Trial Advocates and is also a member of the International Society of Barristers, both invitation-only legal organizations.

“Luther is a long-time friend of the museum. He has served on the board since 2009, funded the museum since the early 1980s and was an avid museum supporter while serving on Columbia City Council. He was instrumental in helping start the Friends of African-American Art membership affiliate group and played an important role in a community gallery exhibition featuring civil rights photographer Cecil Williams and based on the life of the Honorable Matthew J. Perry,” said museum Executive Director Karen Brosius.

“As an art lover and art collector, I am honored to play a role in serving the art museum and our community,” Battiste said.

Battiste served on the board of directors and executive committee of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, on the board of trustees of Columbia College, and the advisory councils of the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Columbia Junior College and the University of South Carolina. He also presently serves on the board of directors of South Carolina Bank and Trust, the Garnet Way and is chairman of the board of governors of the Capital City Club.