ANNUAL SURVEYS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART, wall calendars provide an affordable way to appreciate and display the work of Black artists. In recent years, the broadening interest in African American art has been reflected in an increasing number of wall calendars featuring the work. The selections have included surveys of historic, modern, and contemporary art and calendars dedicated to individual artists, nearly always Black men.
This year, calendars focused on the art of Romare Bearden and Jacob Lawrence are available. Over the years, each of the two artists have been the subject of African American art calendars on several occasions.
In 2004, Pomegranate published a calendar titled, Elizabeth Catlett: In Praise of Black Women. “Sharecropper” (1970) the highly regarded linocut print by Elizabeth Catlett (1915-2012) graced the cover and each month was illustrated with one of her powerful images of women. The Catlett project may have been the first time a widely marketed wall calendar was dedicated to art made by a Black woman whose work is represented in major art museums. Two years later, Pomegranate released a 2006 calendar featuring art by Betye Saar.
This year for the first time in a long time, prominent Black female artists are being celebrated again in calendar form. New 2022 calendars are showcasing the work of Faith Ringgold and Alma Thomas (1891-1978).
Works by other women artists are being highlighted, too. The work of Emma Amos (1937-2020) is featured on the cover of a calendar that explores a variety of African American artists. Betye Saar, along with Kerry James Marshall and David Hammons, is featured in the Museum of Modern Art’s new 2022 Modern Art calendar. In addition, Lawrence is featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s New York in Art 2022 wall calendar.
A selection of 2022 art calendars follows:
ALMA THOMAS, “Resurrection,” 1966 (acrylic and graphite). White House Collection/White House Historical Association | Alma Thomas Wall Calendar 2022, Published by Pomegranate with Michael Rosenfeld Gallery
Alma Thomas 2022 Wall Calendar
Coinciding with “Alma W. Thomas: Everything is Beautiful,” a major traveling exhibition that considers the full spectrum of her creativity, this calendar features the abstract works for which Alma Thomas is best known. Bursting with color and rhythmic patterns, the works are drawn from various collections. The cover image, “Resurrection” (1966), is from the White House Collection. Acquired in 2015, during the tenure of First Lady Michelle Obama, the work is the first by a Black female artist to enter the White House Collection.
FAITH RINGGOLD (b. 1930), “Maya’s Quilt of Life,” 1989 (acrylic on canvas and painted, dyed and pieced fabrics, 1989, 1854×1854 mm / 73 x 73 inches). | Faith Ringgold Wall Calendar 2022, Published by Pomegranate
Faith Ringgold Wall Calendar 2022
This calendar gathers paintings, quilts, and prints by artist, storyteller, activist, and educator Faith Ringgold. Often employing her own biography, Ringgold explores issues of race and gender in her work. Some of her most recognizable images are featured, including “Tar Beach #2” (1990), “Groovin’ High” (1986), and Who’s Afraid of Aunt Jemima?” (1983). Ringgold’s searing image “American People Series #18: The Flag is Bleeding” (1967) is from the collection of Glenstone Museum in Potomac, Md., where it is currently on view in Ringgold’s solo exhibition. On the cover, “Maya’s Quilt of Life” (1989), a gift to Maya Angelou, set the artist’s record at auction when it sold for $461,000 (fees included) at Swann Auction Galleries in 2015. It is now in the collection of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark. Ringgold is based in Englewood, N.J.
EMMA AMOS, “Pool Lady,” 1980 (etching, aquatint and stencil, sheet: 83.34 × 75.72 cm / 32 13/16 × 29 13/16 inches; image: 59.53 × 55.56 cm / 23 7/16 × 21 7/8 inches). National Gallery of Art, Gift of the Collectors Committee, 2019.164.3 | African American Art Wall Calendar 2022, Published by Pomegranate
African American Art 2022
“Pool Lady” (1980) by Emma Amos is featured on the cover of this calendar surveying African American art. The etching was acquired by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 2019. Additional artworks included in this calendar by Faith Ringgold, Alma Thomas, Gwendolyn Knight, William H. Johnson, Bob Thompson, and Charles White, among others, are sourced from several other public and private collections, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, and Minneapolis Institute of Art.
ROMARE BEARDEN, “La Primavera,” 1967 (Collage of paper and synthetic polymer paint on composition board, 43 3/4 x 56 inches). | Romare Bearden Wall Calendar 2022, Published by Pomegranate
Romare Bearden Wall Calendar 2022
Spanning five decades, the paintings and collages included in this calendar were created by Romare Bearden between 1941 and 1988. The images reflect the variety of subjects he regularly addressed, from celebrations of women and music to domestic moments and rural scenes referencing his Southern upbringing. Three of the works—”La Primavera” (1967), the cover image, and “Conjur Woman” (1964) and “Folk Musicians” (1941)—were featured in “Romare Bearden: The Prevalence of Ritual.” The traveling exhibition presented at the Museum of Modern Art in 1971 and four additional venues through 1972.
JONATHAN GREEN, “Nina Simone,” 2009 (acrylic on Canvas, 18 x 60 inches). | The Art of Jonathan Green Wall Calendar 2022, Published by Tide-Mark
Art of Jonathan Green Wall Calendar 2022
Jonathan Green‘s vibrantly colored marsh, beach, and church scenes pay homage to the artist’s Gullah heritage and the Sea Islands of South Carolina. A layered portrait of Nina Simone sitting at a piano with her back to the viewer, appears on the cover of the calendar. Green lives and works in Charleston, S.C.
FLOYD COLEMAN (1939-2018), “Shango’s Helper,” 1972 (acrylic on canvas, 51 × 63 7/8 × 1 1/4 inches / 129.5 × 162.2 × 3.2 cm). © Floyd Coleman. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Kera and Bennie F. Johnson. 2011.102.2 | NMAAHC Wall Calendar 2022, Published by Universe Publishing/Simon & Schuster
National Museum of African American History & Culture 2022 Wall Calendar
This calendar presents a selection of works from the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C. “Shango’s Helper” (1972), a painting by Floyd Coleman graces the cover. Additional works by Torkwase Dyson, Laura Wheeler Waring, John Biggers, Elizabeth Catlett, Charles E. Porter, Purvis Young, and McArthur Binion, among others, are also included.
JACOB LAWRENCE, “The Builders (The Family)” | Jacob Lawrence Wall Calendar 2022, Published by Pomegranate with DC Moore Gallery
Jacob Lawrence Wall Calendar 2022
The works included in this calendar capture the highlights of Jacob Lawrence‘s vast production over the course of his career. Everyday moments from a supermarket and beer hall to card playing and cabinet making are depicted alongside important scenes in African American history, including the revolt on the Amistad slave ship and a safe haven along the Underground Railroad. The cover image, “The Builders (The Family)” was featured on the catalog and poster promoting Lawrence’s 1974 retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
ERNIE BARNES, “The Dunk,” 2000. © Ernie Barnes Family Trust. | Ernie Barnes Wall Calendar 2022, Published by Shades of Color
Ernie Barnes 2022 Wall Calendar
“The Dunk” (2000), depicting a woman flying high above a backboard with a peach basket attached is featured on the cover of this new Ernie Barnes calendar. Each month, works invoke music, dance, sports, play, and the community. Reflecting the African American experience and Barnes’s North Carolina childhood, the selections exemplify the artist’s practice. For most of his career, Barnes lived and worked in Los Angeles.
In addition to the art calendars above, Ebony 2022 pays homage to the iconic magazine, highlighting early and more recent covers in black-and-white and color. Each month features a large cover image along with smaller covers images on related topics, such as sports or women in Hollywood. CT
