African American Art in the 20th Century
African American Art in the 20th Century presents forty-three paintings and sculptures by thirty-four African American artists who came to prominence during the period bracketed by the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights movement.
Drawn from the permanent collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, these works range in style from modern abstraction to stained color to the postmodern assemblage of found objects, and their subjects are diverse. Benny Andrews, Ellis Wilson, and William H. Johnson speak to the dignity and resilience of people who work the land. Jacob Lawrence, Frederick Brown, and Thornton Dial, Sr. acknowledge the struggle for economic and civil rights. Sargent Johnson, Loïs Mailou Jones, and Melvin Edwards address the heritage of Africa, and images by Romare Bearden celebrate jazz musicians. Sam Gilliam and Felrath Hines conduct innovative experiments with color and form. This will be the only New York venue for the exhibition.
The featured artworks were created at significant social and political moments in America. Words of Howard University philosophy professor Alain Locke, novelist James Baldwin, Civil Rights leader Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and their contemporaries provided insight and inspiration. In response, these artists created an image of America that recognizes individuals and community and acknowledges the role of art in celebrating the complex and diverse nature of American society. As featured artist Jacob Lawrence stated in 1951, “My pictures express my life and experience . . . the things I have experienced extend to my national, racial, and class group. I paint the American scene.”
The related catalog, African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, celebrates modern and contemporary artworks in the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection by African American artists. The book, co-published with Skira Rizzoli in New York, is written by Richard J. Powell, the John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art and Art History at Duke University; and Virginia Mecklenburg, chief curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum; with contributions from Maricia Battle, curator in the prints and drawings division at the Library of Congress.
African American Art in the 20th Century is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The C.F. Foundation in Atlanta supports the museum’s traveling exhibition program, Treasures to Go. The William R. Kenan Jr. Endowment Fund provided financial support.
At the Hudson River Museum, this exhibition is supported by the City of Yonkers, Mayor Mike Spano. Additional support is provided by The Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts, Tom and Terry D’Auria, and Bevy Smith.
Exhibitions are made possible by assistance provided by the County of Westchester.
Programs are supported in part by Debra A. Blair, Yolanda F. Johnson, Reginald Joseph, Nancy Montag, and Kathryn B. Welch.
The Teaching Artist-in-Residence for African American Art in the 20th Century is Jamel Robinson. Learn more about the Residency Program here.
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Frederick Brown, John Henry, 1979, oil on canvas. Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift of Gerald L. Pearson. © 2021 Frederick J. Brown Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY.
Selected objects
Purvis Young, Untitled, ca. 1988, acrylic on plywood with fiberboard. Smithsonian American Art Museum, museum purchase. © 1987, Purvis Young.
Renée Stout, The Colonel’s Cabinet, 1991–1994, mixed media: carpet, chair, painting, and cabinet with found and handmade objects. Smithsonian American Art Museum, museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson. © 1994, Renee Stout.
Charles Searles, Celebration, 1975, acrylic on canvas. Smithsonian American Art Museum, transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program.
Delilah Pierce, DC Waterfront, Maine Avenue, 1957, oil on board. Smithsonian American Art Museum, museum purchase made possible through Deaccession Funds.
Whitfield Lovell, Echo 1, 1996, mixed media on wood. Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift of an anonymous donor. © 1996 Whitfield Lovell. 12. Delilah Pierce, DC Waterfront, Maine Avenue, 1957, oil on board. Smithsonian American Art Museum, museum purchase made possible through Deaccession Funds.
Norman Lewis, Evening Rendezvous, 1962, oil on linen. Smithsonian American Art Museum, museum purchase.
Loïs Mailou Jones, Moon Masque, 1971, oil and collage on canvas. Smithsonian American Art Museum, bequest of the artist.
Sargent Johnson, Mask, ca. 1930–1935, copper on wood base. Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift of International Business Machines Corporation.
William H. Johnson, Sowing, ca. 1940, oil on burlap. Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift of the Harmon Foundation.
Felrath Hines, Red Stripe with Green Background, 1986, oil on linen. Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift of Dorothy C. Fisher, wife of the artist. © 1986, Dorothy C. Fisher.
Palmer Hayden, The Janitor Who Paints, ca. 1930, oil on canvas. Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift of the Harmon Foundation.
Melvin Edwards, Tambo, 1993, welded steel. Smithsonian American Art Museum, museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment and the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program. © 1993, Melvin Edwards.
Thornton Dial, Sr., Top of the Line (Steel), 1992, mixed media: enamel, unbraided canvas roping, and metal on plywood. Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift from the collection of Ron and June Shelp.
Beauford Delaney, Can Fire in the Park, 1946, oil on canvas. Smithsonian American Art Museum, museum purchase.
Frederick Brown, John Henry, 1979, oil on canvas. Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift of Gerald L. Pearson. © 2021 Frederick J. Brown Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY.
Photo: Steven Paneccasio. Right: Palmer Hayden, The Janitor Who Paints, ca. 1930, oil on canvas. Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift of the Harmon Foundation.
Photo: Steven Paneccasio. Center: William H. Johnson, Sowing, ca. 1940, oil on burlap. Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift of the Harmon Foundation. Right: Benny Andrews, Portrait of the Black Madonna, 1987. Oil and collage on canvas. Collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Gift of the Andrews Humphrey Family Foundation, 2012.3.2. © 2021 Estate of Benny Andrews / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY, Courtesy Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY.
Photo: Steven Paneccasio. Center: Sargent Johnson, Mask, ca. 1930–1935, copper on wood base. Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift of International Business Machines Corporation.
Photo: Steven Paneccasio. Center: Melvin Edwards, Tambo, 1993, welded steel. Smithsonian American Art Museum, museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment and the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program. © 1993, Melvin Edwards.
Photo: Steven Paneccasio. Far left: Loïs Mailou Jones, Initiation, Liberia, 1983, acrylic on canvas. Smithsonian American Art Museum, bequest of the artist. Left: Loïs Mailou Jones, Moon Masque, 1971, oil and collage on canvas. Smithsonian American Art Museum, bequest of the artist. Right: Norman Lewis, Evening Rendezvous, 1962, oil on linen. Smithsonian American Art Museum, museum purchase. Far right: Purvis Young, Untitled, ca. 1988, acrylic on plywood with fiberboard. Smithsonian American Art Museum, museum purchase. © 1987, Purvis Young.
