[3] Honeywood earned her undergraduate degree in art in 1972 from Spelman College in Atlanta, the first historically black female school of higher education in the United States.
[6] She drew inspiration from her own community to create images of everyday African American life,[8] with subjects ranging from family and social gatherings to church settings.
This led to the inclusion of Honeywood's artwork, including her 1974 painting "Birthday", on the walls of the Huxtable living room on the set of The Cosby Show.
Cosby credited Honeywood with the positive depictions of African-American life in which "you can see teenagers doing homework, a family cooking a meal, girls doing their hair", rather than showing "segregation, starving and homelessness".
Varnette P. Honeywood Foundation is inspired by the principals of fostering a sense of common ground among all people, improving the quality of life for every member of the human family, and cultivating a widespread shared commitment to creating a more enlightened society for the benefit of future generations.
The Varnette P. Honeywood Foundation is focused on the following priorities: Scholarship programs for talented and promising art students and artists in all genres whose work makes a positive contribution to society.