History of African-American Artists: From 1792 to the Present
A landmark work of art history: lavishly illustrated and extraordinary for its thoroughness, A History of African-American Artists -- conceived, researched, and written by the great American artist Romare Bearden with journalist Harry Henderson, who completed the work after Bearden's death in 1988 -- gives a conspectus of African-American art from the late eighteenth century to the present. It examines the lives and careers of more than fifty signal African-American artists, and the relation...
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A landmark work of art history: lavishly illustrated and extraordinary for its thoroughness, A History of African-American Artists — conceived, researched, and written by the great American artist Romare Bearden with journalist Harry Henderson, who completed the work after Bearden's death in 1988 — gives a conspectus of African-American art from the late eighteenth century to the present. It examines the lives and careers of more than fifty signal African-American artists, and the relation of their work to prevailing artistic, social, and political trends both in America and throughout the world.Beginning with a radical reevaluation of the enigma of Joshua Johnston, a late eighteenth-century portrait painter widely assumed by historians to be one of the earliest known African-American artists, Bearden and Henderson go on to examine the careers of Robert S. Duncanson, Edward M. Bannister, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Aaron Douglas, Edmonia Lewis, Jacob Lawrence, Hale A. Woodruff, Augusta Savage, Charles H. Alston, Ellis Wilson, Archibald J. Motley, Jr., Horace Pippin, Alma W. Thomas, and many others.Illustrated with more than 420 black-and-white illustrations and 61 color reproductions — including rediscovered classics, works no longer extant, and art never before seen in this country — A History of African-American Artists is a stunning achievement.Library JournalHimself one of the most prominent modern African American artists, Bearden conceived this landmark volume, treating more than 50 of his predecessors and contemporaries, before his death in 1988. Henderson has ably carried on his mission in a lavishly illustrated book containing 250 black-and-white and 61 color reproductions. Opening in the 18th century with Joshua Johnston, the authors go on to examine the work of Robert S. Duncanson, Henry O. Tanner, Aaron Douglas, Edmonia Lewis, Jacob Lawrence, Auguste Savage, Ellis Wilson, Archibald Motley, Alma Thomas, and others born before 1925. Their lives and careers, which often involved overcoming racial barriers, are portrayed against the backdrop of artistic, social, and political events; black Renaissance and Depression artists receive the most attention. This thoroughly researched conspectus is a solid choice for U.S. art and history collections.-- Russell T. Clement, Brigham Young Univ. Lib., Provo, Ut.
Special AcknowledgmentsIntroductionThe Late Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries3The Question of Joshua Johnston3Robert S. Duncanson19Edward M. Bannister40Grafton T. Brown52Edmonia Lewis54Henry Ossawa Tanner78Other Significant Early Artists111The Twenties and the Black Renaissance115Aaron Douglas127Richmond Barthe136Archibald J. Motley, Jr.147Palmer C. Hayden157Augusta Savage168Malvin Gray Johnson181W. H. Johnson185Hale A. Woodruff200Sargent Johnson216Emergence of African-American Artists During the Depression227Three Influential People - Alain Leroy Locke, Charles Christopher Seifert, Mary Beattie Brady243Charles H. Alston260Eldzier Cortor272Beauford Delaney280Joseph Delaney287Jacob Lawrence293Norman Lewis315Hughie Lee-Smith328Ellis Wilson337The Naive, Self-Taught Artists345William Edmondson349Horace Pippin356Art Departments in African-American Colleges371James A. Porter373Lois Mailou Jones381James Lesesne Wells389Post-World War II African-American Artists397Charles White405Elizabeth Catlett418John T. Biggers427Carroll H. Simms437Alma W. Thomas447Ed Wilson454James W. Washington, Jr.462Richard Mayhew470Notes479Index515Illustration Credits533Permissions Acknowledgments541
\ Library JournalHimself one of the most prominent modern African American artists, Bearden conceived this landmark volume, treating more than 50 of his predecessors and contemporaries, before his death in 1988. Henderson has ably carried on his mission in a lavishly illustrated book containing 250 black-and-white and 61 color reproductions. Opening in the 18th century with Joshua Johnston, the authors go on to examine the work of Robert S. Duncanson, Henry O. Tanner, Aaron Douglas, Edmonia Lewis, Jacob Lawrence, Auguste Savage, Ellis Wilson, Archibald Motley, Alma Thomas, and others born before 1925. Their lives and careers, which often involved overcoming racial barriers, are portrayed against the backdrop of artistic, social, and political events; black Renaissance and Depression artists receive the most attention. This thoroughly researched conspectus is a solid choice for U.S. art and history collections.-- Russell T. Clement, Brigham Young Univ. Lib., Provo, Ut.\ \ \ \ \ Donna SeamanThe late Romare Bearden, a premier African American artist in his own right, devoted 15 years to researching and writing this magnificent study of the lives and achievements of 36 significant African American artists born prior to 1925. He and longtime friend and coauthor Henderson were motivated by frustration over the lack of literature on black artists. Through great perseverance and determination, they managed to track down forgotten artwork, piece together vivid biographical portraits, and conduct interviews with surviving artists, who, in spite of their stature and longevity, had never before been interviewed. As Bearden and Henderson set the scene, historically speaking, for such artists as Robert S. Duncanson, Edmonia Lewis, and Henry Ossawa Tanner, they expose the degree to which racism limited opportunities for black artists. The life stories of the artists associated with the Black Renaissance during the 1920s--such as Aaron Douglas; Archibald Motley, the first painter to boldly celebrate urban African American society; and sculptor and influential mentor Augusta Savage--are recorded with consummate insight, as are accounts of the giants of the Depression era, Beauford Delaney and Jacob Lawrence. Richly illustrated and written with resounding empathy and pride, this is a major contribution to the literature on African American history and to the annals of American art.\ \
