National Puzzle Day: Piece Together Major Works by African American Artists, Including Mickalene Thomas, Charles White, Alma Thomas, and Archibald Motley
STAYING CLOSE TO HOME over the past year, due to COVID-19, has breathed new life into a traditional past time. An entertaining way to pass the hours and relieve stress, jigsaw puzzles are more popular than ever. Several focus on signigicant works by important 20th century African American artists such as Charles White, Alma...
Landscape With Rainbow: Robert Duncanson Painting Was Part of Official Biden-Harris Inauguration Celebration at U.S. Capitol
“Landscape With Rainbow” (1859) by Robert Duncanson SPEAKING TO BRIGHTER HORIZONS, a painting by Robert Duncanson played a special role in the Presidential Inauguration activities yesterday. “Landscape With Rainbow” (1859) was displayed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, on loan for one day from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM). Duncanson is the first Black...
Commissioned During the Carter Era, Jacob Lawrence’s Presidential Inauguration Image Centers the American People
“The Swearing In” (1977) by Jacob Lawrence DEPICTING THE WINTER CHILL of Inauguration Day, Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) relied on a trio of visual cues—bare-branched trees; a two-toned blue sky; and a series of figures huddled in coats, hats, and scarves. Rich with narrative, an efficient composition, methodic use of color, and rigorous attention to...
In His Final Public Speech in 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. Said, ‘We’ve Got Some Difficult Days Ahead’
AT THE CONCLUSION OF HIS FAMOUS “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, Martin Luther King Jr., said “We’ve got some difficult days ahead.” He made the speech on April 3, 1968, to a crowd of striking sanitation workers at Bishop Charles Mason Temple in Memphis, Tenn. He had flown into town from Atlanta under...
Rev. William J. Barber II on Ascension of Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris: ‘You Are the Light of the World’
Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris on Nov. 7, 2020 PERFORMANCE ART takes many forms. On Sunday, it was realized in the impassioned sermon preached by Rev. William J. Barber II from the pulpit of his Greenleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro, N.C. Invoking history, astronomy, and the lyrics of Mary J. Blige, he said Vice President-Elect...
America the Beautiful: Vision of Artist Lorraine O’Grady and Voice of Ray Charles Inspire New Biden-Harris Video
A NEW VIDEO produced by the Biden-Harris campaign, captures Americans from all walks of life at home and work, in bustling cities and expansive rural landscapes, from sea to shining sea. With the Ray Charles rendition of “America the Beautiful” serving as the soundtrack, the video depicts Americans holding up ornate gold picture frames,...
Election 2020: Artists and Museums are Actively Engaged, Presenting Exhibitions and Public Awareness Campaigns, and Encouraging Voter Participation
Vote.org’s Plan Your Vote campaign features voting advocacy artworks by artists including, from left, Julie Mehretu and Calida Rawles ELECTION DAY IS NOV. 3 in the United States and in the lead up artists and art institutions have been active and engaged. The political season has inspired countless artist projects, information campaigns, public art...
Andrea Pippins Illustrated a New Kwanzaa Stamp, Offering a Contemporary Take on Traditional African American Holiday
WITH THE HOLIDAY SEASON fast approaching, the U.S. Postal Service issued a new Kwanzaa stamp featuring artwork by Andrea Pippins. The Forever stamp was dedicated on Oct. 13. Pippins offers a contemporary take on the traditional African American holiday established in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a professor of Africana studies. Working with a largely...
Renaissance Man: An Exceptional Painter, Musician, and Filmmaker, Blitz Bazawule Counts Beyoncé, Ava DuVernay, and Oprah Winfrey Among His Collaborators
A MOMENT IN TIME, a new series of paintings by Blitz Bazawule, is inspired by found photographs he located in markets around the world. The artist first discovered them in Rabat, Morocco, where vendors were selling albums full of old, black-and-white photographs belonging to families they didn’t know. In the paintings, which are on...
Aug. 28: Smithsonian is Marking March on Washington Anniversary With Film Dedicated to Pivotal Day in Black History
TO MARK THE 57TH ANNIVERSARY of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is making its grand opening film, “August 28: A Day in the Life of a People,” available online, free to public for 24 hours, beginning tomorrow morning. “Aug. 28”...
New National Trust Grants Are Preserving African American History at 27 Sites Connected to Boston Artists, Architect Paul Williams, and Poet Lucille Clifton
NEW GRANTS ARE HELPING TO PRESERVE 27 U.S. sites dedicated to African American history. Sites connected to Boston artists; Los Angeles architect Paul Williams; and the historic homes performer and activist Paul Robeson, blues legend Muddy Waters, inventor Lewis Latimer, and poet Lucille Clifton, are among the beneficiaries. The support from the National Trust...
National Gallery of Art’s First Painting By a Native American Artist Speaks to Race, Rage, and Problematic Name of Local NFL Team
THE PERMANENT COLLECTION of the National Gallery of Art (NGA) includes more than 150,000 objects—paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, prints, drawings, and photographs. Only 25 of them are by Native American artists, including Jaune Quick-to-See Smith‘s “I See Red: Target” (1992), the first painting by a Native American artist to enter the collection, which was...
Art for Change: 12 Black Designers Created Black Lives Matter Protest Posters
PROTESTORS HAVE BEEN MARCHING throughout the United States and internationally out of frustration, anger, and fear following the latest spate of police killings. Since late May, people have taken to the streets chanting Black Lives Matter and calling for racial justice, often facing violent reprisals from law enforcement. The collective actions are meant to...
CBS News Marks Flag Day with Report on Black National Anthem, Coverage Follows Earlier Features on Black Art and Artists
CBS Sunday Morning reports on “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” TODAY IS FLAG DAY. CBS News marked the occasion with a report about “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.” The James Weldon Johnson poem was set to music in 1899 by Johnson’s younger brother, the composer John Rosamond Johnson. Known as the Black National Anthem,...
Feature Film About Florida Highwaymen Painters is Coming Soon
THE DRAMATIC TRUE STORY of the Highwaymen, the Florida artists who made a living selling paintings from the trunks of their cars during segregation, is being made into a feature film. “The Highwaymen” is about a group of 26 African American artists, most of them self-taught, who turned out countless paintings of Florida’s lush,...
A Look Inside Johnson Publishing Archive: From Pearl Bailey on Set of ‘Carmen Jones’ to Coretta Scott King in Mourning and Eartha Kitt Poolside
Adam Clayton Powell and Malcolm X attend school boycott rally in New York City, March 1964 BLACK-AND-WHTIE PHOTOGRAPHS of Pearl Bailey on the set of the 1954 film “Carmen Jones”; Sammy Davis Jr., hanging with the Rat Pack; Eartha Kitt reading Richard Wright’s “Pagan Spain” poolside at a swank hotel; and Coretta Scott King...
The New York Times Asked African American Creatives About the Black Art That Inspires Them. Here is What They Said
Trailer: “Get Out” (2017), Written and Directed by Jordan Peele. | Video by Universal Pictures ‘GET OUT’ was “a phenomenal piece of work,” artist Kerry James Marshall said. Kenya Barris, the television writer and producer, is drawn to the neon work “Double America 2” (2014) by Glenn Ligon. “The simplicity of it is radical...
Time Magazine Recognizes 100 Years of Influential Women with Covers by Mickalene Thomas, Bisa Butler, and Toyin Ojih Odutola
TIME MAGAZINE is exploring the most influential women of the past century. 2020 marks 100 years since women gained the right to vote in the United States. To recognize the milestone that transformed women’s individual and collective agency, the magazine launched a project called 100 Women of the Year. Introducing the project, Nancy Gibbs,...
Chicago Painter is Central Character in New ‘Candyman’ Horror Film From Jordan Peele and Director Nia DaCosta
“Candyman” stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who also had roles in HBO’s “Watchmen” and Jordan Peele’s “Us.” A NEW HORROR FILM from Jordan Peele weaves the contemporary art world and Chicago gentrification with an urban legend about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand. According to the legend, if you say Candyman five...
2,500+ Artists Sign Open Letter Endorsing Bernie Sanders for President, Group Includes Kara Walker, Kevin Beasley, and Aria Dean
A SIZABLE GROUP OF ARTISTS has endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for President of the United States, issuing an open letter of support outlining the reasons why they think the he is the best candidate in the Democratic field. More than 2,500 artists have endorsed the online letter, including Kader Attia, Kevin Beasley, Nicole...
