African American Art and Artists
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"Beginning with the arts produced in the Colonial period, Dr. Lewis documents and interprets the flow of creative productions of an important segment of the American population. Her book shows that the range of art produced by African American artists covers the entire spectrum of craft productions through painting, sculpture, and printmaking. There is a progressive development of style that not only reflects the trends in particular periods, but reveals an evolving pattern of indigenous qualities that are distinct. The art community in general and the African American community in particular are fortunate to have Dr. Samella Lewis, for she has developed unusual authority in the area of African American art. I know that African American Art and Artists will be of great value educationally and that it will offer a stimulating and rewarding experience to all who have the opportunity to share in its contents."—Jacob LawrenceLibrary JournalThis book belongs on the art reference shelf of every major library. A revised and updated edition of the 1978 work Art: African American, it presents short biographies and illustrations of the work of 176 artists of African descent working in the United States from the Revolution to the present. The strongest section covers artists, almost all of them painters, working from 1865 to 1960. Descriptions of artists after 1960 are a jumble of thoughtful three-page essays and uninformative three-sentence citations. Because this scholarly but readable work will be the starting point for so much research, the lack of annotations in the bibliography and the overall variability in the quality of citations is a major disappointment. Despite these flaws, this will be the book to reach for when African American art reference questions arise. Recommended for fine arts collections.-David McClelland, Temple Univ. Lib., Philadelphia
ForewordIntroduction to the Revised and Expanded EditionPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction31619-1865: Cultural Deprivation and Slavery7The Craft Heritage as an Economic Resource8The Emergence of Professional Artists10Freemen and the Abolitionist Movement17Discrimination and the Problem of Patronage191865-1920: Emancipation and Cultural Dilemma23The First Major Landscape Painter24The Diverse Quests for Professional Status29American Reliance on the European Artistic Tradition571920-1940: New Americanism and Ethnic Identity59The Spread of the Harlem Movement65The Self-Taught Individualists1061940-1960: Social and Political Awareness115Mural Art as Cultural and Social Commentary116The WPA and Its Legacy1191960-1990: Political and Cultural Awareness143Painting144The Flag: A Symbol of Repression165Reality and the Dream172Symbolism: Geometric, Organic, and Figurative186Mixed-Media Assemblages198Sculpture: Additive or Direct206Art/Craft226Drawing244Graphic Processes: Economical and Aesthetic Approaches to Communication251Performances / Installations / Environments2761990-2002: From Painting to Technology: Art before and into the New Millennium291Painting291Sculpture305Installation Art313Mixed-Media Art319Digital/Computer Art323Conclusion327Bibliography331Index339
