American Art: Visual Art of the Harlem Renaissance
December 14, 2011 Leave a comment
Diverse in its mediums and themes, the visual art of the Harlem Renaissance provides social commentary on an era of new ideas and expression. A genre which must be heralded as American art, rather than pigeonholed as an African-American or Black art subgroup, the visual art of the Harlem Renaissance held social, political, and artistic implications. The Harlem Renaissance, a movement of the 1920s, “marked the century’s first period of intense activity by African Americans in the fields of literature, art, and music” (Lewis 59). Visual artists depicted a variety of scenes, peoples, and emotions—from the daily happenings of burgeoning urban centers to the sufferings experienced in rural Southern life—to portray and interpret historical and contemporary circumstances. Common themes across the visual art of this era include racial identity, gender roles, migration, African influences, and social class. By exploring their self-expression and heritage, black artists asserted their “self-reliance, self-respect, and self-pride” (Lewis 59). This Wiki will analyze the visual art of the Harlem Renaissance by examining major artists of the period, their artwork, and the implications and themes which they hoped to convey through their work.
- Charles Alston (1907-1977)
- Beauford Delaney (1901-1979)
- Aaron Douglas (1899-1979)
- Palmer Hayden (1890-1973)
- Sargent Claude Johnson (1888-1967)
- Lois Mailou Jones (1905-1998)
- Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000)
- Archibald John Motley Junior (1891-1980)
- Augusta Savage (1892-1962)
- James Van Der Zee (1886-1983)
Charles Alston (1907-1977)
A veritable pioneer, Charles Alston used art to portray both history and his contemporary reality. Born in 1907 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Alston’s first exposure to art was through modeling the red clay native to his neighborhood (Coker, 18). By 1937, Alston would become the first African American supervisor of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project at Harlem Hospital (Henderson, 7). His career is marked by a diverse engagement of art forms, as well as prestige in art education. Throughout his entire life, Alston also saw art as a way to work towards social change and civil rights. More than anything, Alston produced American art:
I don’t think that there’s anything more American than what a black American does—it’s so uniquely an American experience. So I consider myself to be an artist who happens to be black, who happens to have lived through the black experience, and inevitably it’s got to have its influence on [my] work, but if it’s anything at all, it’s American (Henderson, 8.)
An understanding of Alston’s life and work is thus an exploration of an American artist whose contributions span social movements and time. He was an active artist until his death in 1977.
Early Life
The youngest child of five, Charles Alston was born on November 28, 1907 in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Rev. Primus Priss Alston and Anna Miller (Coker, 18). Alston has described his childhood in North Carolina as happy and privileged (8), and his family was much respected within the entire community. In 1910, his father died of a cerebral hemorrhage, and his mother remarried three years later to Harry Pierce Bearden (18-9). The Bearden family moved permanently to New York City, where their new father had secured a job overseeing elevator operations and newsstand employees. His family’s relocation occurred as part of “the Great Migration” of blacks fleeing the South because of economic and social factors (Wardlaw, 5-6). Alston’s move, however, is relatively early during this migration era; arriving in 1915, the Alstons were able to become well settled in New York before the massive wave of the 1930s. Living in the growing Harlem neighborhood during the Great Depression, Alston witnessed the strength of his community, a feature which would become evident in his artwork.
Education was a priority within his family setting. According to Alvia J. Wardlaw’s account of Alston’s life, “the Alston clan fits into the spectrum of W.E.B. Du Bois’ “Talented Tenth”—the group that would take on the mantle of responsibility and leadership required to move the race ahead” (Wardlaw, 7). At Dewitt Clinton High School, Alston was elected to the Honors Society and became the art editor of his school’s annual magazine (“The Magpie”) (Kenkeleba, 20). In addition, he took art and anatomy classes on Saturdays. Entering Columbia University in 1925, Alston dabbled in architecture before seeing that architects, particularly black architects, were unable to exercise their full creativity (Wardlaw, 7). He chose to double major in history and fine arts during his undergraduate education and continued on to the Teachers College of Columbia University for his Masters Degree. Receiving the Arthur Wesley Dow Fellowship for continuing his education (Wardlaw, 10), Alston became formally trained in art education and would come to teach some of the greatest names of the Harlem Renaissance, including Jacob Lawrence. During college, Alston also met Alain Locke, a great thinker and writer of the Harlem Renaissance and author of The New Negro. Locke became Alston’s mentor and Alston’s experience helping Locke arrange an exhibit of African American sculpture from Locke’s collection would impact Alton’s creative process and thoughts on African American art throughout his artistic career.
Career in the Visual Arts: Early paintings
While pursuing his Masters Degree, Alston was employed as the boys’ work director at the Utopia Children’s House, offering art classes to children during the daytime and to adults at night. In addition, he began teaching at the Harlem Art Workshop at the New York Public Library. A program established by Augusta Savage, another influential artist during the Harlem Renaissance, the Art Workshop at the library eventually lost its Carnegie funding and was forced to move (Wardlaw, 11-12).
This led to the establishment of “306,” an artistic hub which Alston organized that became a hotspot of creativity within the Harlem community. According to Wardlaw, “if there was a single space that defined the energy and creativity of the Harlem Renaissance, it would have been 306 West 141st Street” (16). Besides a place for artistic interaction and exchange, 306 also housed the living quarters of Alston and Henry Bannarn, his roommate. Many frequenters of 306 were also members of the newly founded Harlem Artists’ Guild. Established in 1935 by Alston, Savage, Lightfoot and other Harlem artists (Coker, 21), the Guild organized artists and worked towards common goals.
During Alston’s time at Utopia, the Harlem Art Workshop, 306, and within the Guild, Alston still balanced his public art role with his private practice. He focused his efforts on portraiture and genre scenes, some of which would become iconic of the Harlem Renaissance.
This oil canvas painting entitled “Portrait of a Young Man” is dated 1936-8 and depicts a man of confidence: “his eyes beneath raised brows are those of a sophisticated New Yorker who, at approximately twenty-nine years of age, has a burgeoning career ahead of him and the creative energy of the Harlem Renaissance around him” (Wardlaw, 19). This image of an “urbane” Alston is a characteristic depiction of himself, one which combines self-reflection with the painting techniques in which he was engaging at the time.
“Girl in a Red Dress,” pictured above, is another portrait painted by Alston. This painting would become a symbol of the Harlem Renaissance because of Alston’s ability to depict the intellect and confidence of the girl to “convey to the world a different kind of beauty” (Wardlaw, 20). This painting removes the girl from a defined time and location, making it universal and a depiction of “the subject from her inner vantage point” (Wardlaw, 20). Alston uses portraiture as an “opportunity to examine his own people,” and to capture the qualities, such as dignity and defiance, being written about by Harlem Renaissance authors.
Another theme which carried into Alston’s paintings was his love of jazz music. Alston frequented jazz establishments and formed personal relationships with musicians in the movement. He sought to celebrate jazz and jazz musicians, and these paintings were very emotionally close to him (Henderson, 8). Alston returns to the theme of jazz in the 1950s, and both his 1930s and 1950s works strive to present representations of the “black experience” (Kenkeleba, 15)
In his painting “Vaudeville,” Alston highlights the struggle of a black performer forced to showcase himself in blackface for a white audience. Yet this painting speaks not only to entertainers but to all blacks who felt as though they had to cater to the wishes of the white world. Forcing to reflect on the subject of the painting behind his mask, Alston uses his art to speak to themes of discrimination and racial inequality.
Career in the Visual Arts: Mural art
During the 1930s, the Mexican muralist movement influenced Alston who would later become well-known for his influential and controversial public murals. Mexican muralists used murals to teach illiterate and impoverished viewers of their nation’s historic battle with exploitation and imperialism (Henderson, 7). Though the painting on public courtyard walls had long been an African tradition, the contributions of Mexican muralists like Miguel Covarrubias directly impacted African American muralists who related to their social, political, and economic messages (Lewis, 116). The development of social realism in Mexico between 1910 and 1920 also impacted the techniques and materials available for mural creation.
Charles Alston became the first African American supervisor of a WPA project through the support and action of the Harlem Artists Guild. This project involved the execution of two murals at Harlem Hospital, an endeavor which showcased Alston’s ability to mix aesthetics and social commentary. The two murals, entitled “Magic in Medicine” and “Modern Medicine” involved the work of thirty-five artists and were each about 17 feet by 6 feet and located on each side of the doorway of the Women’s Pavilion (Coker, 11).
“Magic in Medicine,” depicted below, depicts the origin of medicine in Africa. It showcases Locke’s views of art which “challenge[d] African Americans to see themselves not through the eyes of whites but with their own eyes” (Coker, 11). Alston used a traditional Gabonese idol and was criticized for portraying Africa as primitive, though he sought to embody Locke’s belief that “Black artists could adopt an African style of expression within modernist styles, abstract design, and symbolic form” (Coker, 12). That said, Alston used a loosely Cubist style for both paintings, and portrayed this African scene as one of fluidity and nature (Lewis, 116).
“Modern Medicine,” on the other hand, shows the African American as a group living within two cultures. Alston depicts African American doctors, scientists, and professionals alongside the fallen African idol (Coker, 11). Samella Lewis argues that “Modern Medicine” shows American life as “rigid and tense with mechanical products destroying nature,” and one in which humanity is ultimately suffering (Lewis, 116). In both murals, the theme of healing unites the differing depictions.
The design of these two murals was met with some opposition from the hospital administration. While the use of “Negro themes” for the murals was objectionable to the administration—who had approved all the sketches for the murals by white artists containing only whites in their drawings—the Artists’ Union (a liberal organization in downtown New York City) and the Harlem Artists’ Guild supported the mural artists in their protest. Alvia J. Wardlaw cites part of a four page letter to the Hospital administration regarding the use of Alston’s sketches:
“Although all racial groups are cared for in the hospital without discrimination or segregation, the very make-up of the community in which Harlem Hospital finds itself makes it an institution which caters more than any other similar institution in the city to a racial group. Furthermore, Negro doctors, if they are to serve their internships in New York City, are forced to do so in Harlem Hospital. Finally, except in the highest executive capacities, the entire nursing staff is Negro. Therefore, we feel that a group of artists, forming an intelligent part of the community, with a finger on the pulse of its life, cultural interests, and achievements of the people most vitally concerned.” (as cited by Wardlaw, 31)
Ultimately, the artists win and are allowed to use Alston’s sketches to execute the murals in Harlem Hospital.
Another mural for which Alston is well recognized is his commissioned work for the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company of Los Angles. He collaborated with Hale Woodruff to create a set of murals depicting African American contributions to the founding of California. Alston painted “Exploration and Colonization (1537-1850)”, and Woodruff’s mural encompassed “Settlement and Development (1850-1949)” (Lewis, 116). Artistically, the harmony between the panels and their accord as a whole architectural unit served as a guiding message within mural painting techniques (Lewis, 116). The murals had a social purpose as well. By showing the impacts of African Americans within the “epic of America” (Kenkeleba, 13), Alston and Woodruff emphasize the importance of black people within the building of modern America.
Career in the Visual Arts: Brief resume of achievements post-Harlem Renaissance
Throughout his entire career, Alston used art as a medium to express the human condition, respond to injustices, and portray historical and contemporary realities. He continued to paint and draw throughout his lifetime, working as a cartoon artist for the Office of War Information during World War II to mobilize African American support for the war. In 1938 he traveled to the South on a Rosenwald Fellowship, during which he photographed black life in the South, many of which served as inspiration for later paintings (Wardlaw, 33).
Alston became an artist of protest during the Civil Rights movement. Alston was particularly proud of his 1958 “Black Man Black Woman, USA” and “Walking” paintings which “prophesied” civil rights marches (“Walking” is featured below) (Henderson, 8). In 1968, Alston told New York Times reporter Grace Glueck that he could best help the Civil Rights movement “by being the best painter [he] could possibly be” (Kenkeleba, 9 ). Alston was instrumental in creating Spiral, a group of African American artists founded in 1963 devoted to tackling the question of civil rights activism. Together, Spiral put together a black and white exhibition whose proceeds were contributed to the Civil Rights Movement. This exhibit proved to be the group’s only show, as too many conflicts arose within the organization (Kenkeleba, 9 ).
Alston became a full professor at City College of New York in 1968 and continued to teach until his death in 1977. His death came months that of his wife, Myra Logan Alston, who he had married in 1944 after meeting a the Harlem Hospital mural project (Wardlaw, 114). In 2000, Alston’s bust of Martin Luther King became the first artwork by an African American exhibited in the White House.
Finally, though Alston participated in the art world in many ways, he developed no distinct, pigeonholed style and therefore remained fairly unknown among artists (Henderson, 8). However, according to Wardlaw, Alston “left to New York both a legacy of great public art and an organizational model through which artists could work together effectively to create change within the art establishment” (Wardlaw, 1). Alston’s lifetime achievements as an artist are more numerous than can be expressed in this article. His lasting impact remains alive in each of his pieces of artwork. More than just a creator of images, Alston shaped his world by striving for justice and equality in his professional and personal lives.
Beauford Delaney (1901-1979)
Biography
Born in 1901 in Knoxville Tennessee, Beauford Delaney would soon become a recognizable African-American Expressionist artist. While a teenager, he relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, where he attended the Massachusetts Normal Art School, the South Boston School of Art, and the Copley Society. During this time, he developed strong relations with his teachers and professional artists, ultimately contributing to his career a memorable artist (Lewis, 98).
He eventually moved from Massachusetts and settled in Greenwich Village, New York. Delaney lived on Greene Street, which gave him the inspiration for his 1951 painting entitled, Greene Street. In the mean time, Delaney worked as a telephone operator at the Whitney Museum (Lewis, 98). In the 1930s, Delaney attended the Boykin School of Art, and soon became an active participant of the Harlem Artists Guild (Patton, 161). His work at this time had been featured in multiple African-American venues such as the Harmon Foundation exhibition of 1933, exhibitions at the 135th and 42nd Street braches of the New York Public Library, and the Whitney Studio Galleries where he once worked (Lewis, 98).
In the 1940s, Delaney used vivid expressionistic colors for both his cityscapes and portraits. Enamored by city street scenes, one of Delaney’s most recognizable works depicting his urban fascination is entitled, Can Fire in the Park (1946). Use of vivid colors and impasto, or thick ridges of paint, characterized much of his artwork (Patton, 162).
His professional career eventually flourished after his works were displayed in both the Pyramid Club in 1947 and the RoKo Gallery in 1950 (Patton, 162). Although commissions throughout his career helped him to overcome economic difficulty as an artist living in New York, Delaney eventually could not keep up with the cost of expensive paint and maintenance of a studio (Lewis, 98). In 1953, Delaney left America and settled in Paris, France. He later moved to a small suburb called Clamart. Very pleased with his life in France, he spent the remainder of his life there (Patton, 162).
Although originally an Expressionist artist, he gradually pursued an interest in Abstract Expressionism. His later paintings included non-representational works, although he continued to use vivid colors throughout his career (Patton, 163).
Artwork
In 1946, Beauford Delaney painted Can Fire in the Park, as he exhibited an uncanny fascination with street scenes of urban life. This particular artwork depicts a colorful group of individuals huddled together in a city park. He uses vivid colors as well as impasto, a technique of the Cold War era, in which thick ridges of paint are visible. This painting includes elements of Abstract Expressionism as well (Patton, 162).
In 1951, Beauford Delaney painted Greene Street, which is the exact name of the street on which he lived in Greenwich Village, New York (Lewis, 98).
Aaron Douglas (1899-1979)
Biography
Born in 1898 in Topeka, Kansas, Aaron Douglas had an interest in art from the time he was a child. He studied art at the University of 
Nebraska- Lincoln and went on to receive his masters in art from Columbia University. Douglas remained in New York and studied under German artist Winold Reiss, at which time Douglas began incorporating African themes into his work. Several prominent literary figures of the Harlem Renaissance commissioned works from Douglas, including Alain Locke and poet Langston Hughes. Douglas also published pieces in popular journals including the NAACP’s The Crisis and The Urban League’s Opportunity. Locke, author of “The New Negro”, referred to Douglas as the “pioneering Africanist”. The Works Progress Administration commissioned four murals from Douglas which compromise his “Aspects of Negro Life” and are still displayed at the New York Public Library. Douglas became the first president of the Harlem Artist Guild in 1928. In 1940 he returned to the South, establishing the art department at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee where he taught for nearly thirty years.
Douglas’ attitude toward art and his role in the Harlem Renaissance is captured in this excerpt he wrote to Langston Hughes:
“Your problem, Langston, my problem, no our problem is to conceive, develop, establish an art era. Not white art painted black…Let’s bare our arms and plunge them deep through laughter, through pain, through sorrow, through hope, through disappointment, into the very depths of the souls of our people and drag forth material crude, rough, neglected. Then let’s sing it, dance it, write it, and paint it. Let’s do the impossible. Let’s create something transcendentally material, mystically objective. Earthy. Spiritually earthy. Dynamic.” (Kirschke, 78)
Artwork
Symbolic Negro History Series, 1930
Douglas was commissioned to paint murals for Fisk University. “The cycle was to represent a panorama of the history of black people in the New World.” (Kirschke, 111) The series concluded with seven panels representing philosophy, drama, music, poetry, science, night (Diana), and day (Apollo). Douglas described
his depiction of philosophy saying, “the decay and ruins of man’s philosophical thought is symbolized by the broken and overturned drums of Greek columns.” (Kirschke, 113) On one side of the lone man are industrial factories and big city skyscrapers on the other. Douglas used the established symbol, two masks of comedy and tragedy, in his painting of drama. Again, Douglas juxtaposed the traditional Greek column with a modern city on the horizon. The mural celebrating music depicts three figures, one playing a trumpet, another playing a string instrument, and the third singing. Douglas emphasizes the instruments by enlarging parts of them throughout the painting. The poetry mural presents a lone man, seeking to capture the secrets of the universe. Science shows a man who with his candle brings light to darkness, symbolizing a scientist who brings knowledge to the previously unknown. Douglas employs Greek mythology in his depictions of night and day, using Diana, goddess of the moon, and Apollo, god of the sun among other things.
The simplicity of Douglas’ murals was in an effort to help viewers to absorb the entire cycle. These paintings still reside in the Fisk library. Douglas once called one of the university’s buildings the “ perfect symbol for Negro education”, giving African Americansan opportunity to “take their places in life as scientists, ministers, and leaders of every kind.” (Kirshcke, 112) While many of Douglas’ works focus on black heritage and history, this set of murals was meant as a modern depiction of African American life, and their entrance into all of these fields of knowledge. Instead of looking back as he often did, Douglas is exploring the potential for blacks in America for the future.
Aspects of Negro Life, 1934
In 1934 Douglas created a set of four murals for the New York Public Library. Entitled Aspects of Negro Life, the panels tell the story of African Americans journey from Africa to the United States, highlighting the triumphs and sorrows they faced along the way. The first panel, The Negro in an African Setting depicts dancers and musicians in Africa. This reflects Douglas’ deep appreciation for African culture, particularly the rich traditions revolving around music, dance, and art. In each subsequent panel, Douglas includes a musical instrument, emphasizing the importance of music in African and therefore African American culture.
The next panel, Slavery through Reconstruction, shows the suffering of African Americans in the United States. From right to left, it shows the progression from slavery to the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation finally members of the Klu Klux Klan on horseback. During the hardship of slavery, blacks held on to the musical traditions of their ancestors. The center scene shows slaves working the fields turning to listen to a man on a box, reading the Emancipation Proclamation, and encouraging free blacks to vote. In the final scene, Union soldiers from the North dispatch to attack the KKK.
The third panel, An Idyll of the Deep South, can also be read from right to left. The first depiction shows African American laborers. This is followed an image of people singing, dancing, and praying, paying homage to their African culture. The last image is the aftermath of a lynching, with mourners surrounding a body underneath a noose. The ray of light shining on this scene is a symbol of hope. The fourth panel, Song of the Towers, illustrates the triumph of African Americans. The first scene portrays their migration to the North. The next image shows the creativity of African Americans expressed through the Harlem Renaissance. The final scene shows the African American community devastated by the Great Depression. In later interviews, Douglas expressed his regrets for ending the piece on a negative note. (Kirshke, 122)
Palmer Hayden (1890-1973)
Biography
Art Education
In 1925, Hayden studied at the Boothbay Art Colony in Maine, under the tutelage of Asa Grant Randall. He specialized in marine subjects, and won a first prize for “Distinguished Achievement in Fine Arts” for his seascape, Schooners, in 1927. “Negro Worker Wins Harmon Art Prizes: Gold Medal and $400 Awarded to Man Who Washes Windows to Have Time to Paint,”
In 1932, Hayden returned to the United States, working for several U.S. government agencies, including the Treasury Relief Art Project and the Works Progress Administration. Throughout the 40’s, Hayden worked diligently on a series of 12 paintings entitled the Ballad of John Henry. In his later work, Hayden continued to focus on African-American themes, capturing both rural gatherings in the South and the urban nature of New York.927).
This award, coupled with additional grant money allowed Hayden to continue his studies in Paris, where he further developed his proficiency in seascapes and marine studies. He also worked exhaustively on his portrayal of blacks and ethnic subject matter.
Most art historians and writers agree that his most significant work are his genre paintings that tell African American folk tales, namely the John Henry series. However, his success as an African American folklorist overshadowed his love for painting seascapes. Hayden stated that the marine scenes and docks reminded him of home and sometimes carried a religious significance. (Source). Some of his representations of African Americans were condemned by some critics as stereotypical and demeaning, and he was accused of catering to white racist appetites for distorted imagery of black people.
The first version of The Janitor Who Paints was criticized for its depiction of characters with large hands. This painting features a janitor painting a portrait of a woman and a child. This painting prompted the following comment from James Porter in his book, Modern Negro Art:
“Lately…[ Hayden] has tried to paint satirical pictures of Negro life in Harlem, and in these, including the one entitled The Janitor Who Paints, we see a talent gone far astray. Not only are the forms confused, but the application of the humor is ill-advised if not altogether tasteless.”
Sargent Claude Johnson (1888-1967)
Biography
Johnson was born the eldest of six children in Boston to a father of Swedish descent and mother of African American and Cherokee ancestry. His father passed away in 1897 and his mother died of tuberculosis in 1902. Johnson and his siblings were taken care of by his Uncle (a schoolteacher) and his aunt (a prominent black sculptor). She had a significant influence on his life, and they participated in some of the same exhibitions. Inspired by his aunt, Johnson was skilled in many mediums, and was an accomplished painter, potter, ceramist, printmaker, sculptor, and carver.
Racial Influences
Johnson’s mixed background had a significant influence on his work. Some of his siblings chose to pass as Indian or white, but Johnson lived his whole life as a black. On blackness, Johnson remarked, “Negroes are a colorful race; they call for an art as colorful as they can handle” (Source 1). Johnson’s early work was centered on his racial identity as a black, and as his work matured, he later incorporated aspects of his Native American heritage.
Art Education
Johnson and his brothers were sent to public school in Massachusetts in 1902, and never saw his three sisters again after this. He specialized in music and mechanical drawing, and in 1915, elected to move to San Francisco. This was at the time of the Panama Pacific International Exposition, which had a significant influence both on the California art movement and Johnson’s own work. Johnson enrolled in a prestigious art school in California soon after his arrival in San Francisco, studying under the famous sculptor Ralph Stackpole.
In the San Francisco Art Association exhibition Johnson received awards in 1925 for Pearl; in 1931 for his terra cotta head entitled Chester; in 1935 for his sculpture Forever Free; and in 1938 for his lithograph Black and White. In 1939, the San Diego Fine Arts Gallery acquired his terra cotta head Ester. He worked in wood, ceramics, oils, watercolors and graphics in a backyard studio from 1925 – 1933. In 1935, Johnson was employed by the massive Federal Arts Project in the Bay Area as an artist, senior sculptor, assistant supervisor, assistant state supervisor, and finally, unit supervisor. The Federal Arts Project gave Johnson the chance that he needed to express himself in new materials, and allowed him to work on a massive scale in well-equipped studios. The reading of art and technical books, especially on African Art, was another of his favorite pastimes.
Johnson maintained a strong African influence, sculpting various masks terracotta, bronze, copper, wood, and marble. His award winning piece, Chester is a bust formed in the likeness of a child that regularly visited Johnson’s studio. This portrait bust reveals his interest in African American physiognomy, as seen in the depiction of the boy’s hair, eyes, nose, and lips, and the inclusion of the boy’s hand as part of the piece. Though his ancestry included Swedish and Cherokee, Johnson identified himself as African American and sought to create racial pride through his work.
Lois Mailou Jones (1905-1998)
Early LifeLois Mailou Jones, often referred to as a “grande dame” of African-American art, was born in Boston in 1905 to Carolyn and Thomas Vreeland Jones. Her mother designed hats and was employed in a beauty shop, while her father worked as the superintendent of an office building and became a lawyer at the age of forty after taking night law classes. Drawing was a favorite pastime of Jones’, and her interest in art was encouraged by the black sculptor Meta Warrick Fuller. Jones met Fuller in Martha’s Vineyard, where she, her mother, and her older brother John spent their summers. Fuller’s art was heavily influenced by her African-American heritage, and she urged Jones to study in Paris as she had done: “If you want to be a success in your career, go to Paris” (Laduke 28).
Jones attended high school at the High School of Practical Arts in Boston from 1919 to 1923, where she studied art while simultaneously taking drawing classes at the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts. It was in high school that Jones was introduced to the art of African masks during an apprenticeship with Ripley Studios. Jones helped to create costumes and masks for the Ted Shawn School of Dance, and researched such traditional masks, a theme which would eventually become important to her art (Finley 55). As Jones said, “I found that the African masks gave me my best opportunity for studying the mask as an art form, and my interest in the mask began very early in my career” (Rowell 357-358). After high school, Jones attended the Boston Museum School on a four-year scholarship, where she studied design and was the only African-American student. It was at this time that Jones began her habit of carrying watercolor paints with her outdoors to paint nature because she had an interest in the works of John Singer Sargent and Winslow Homer (Laduke 28).
After her graduation from the Boston Museum School, Jones applied for a job there but was rejected and advised to go south and help her own people. Instead, Jones went to study at the Boston Designer’s Art School, followed by Howard, Harvard, and Columbia Universities. Jones began teaching in 1928 at the Palmer Memorial Institute in Sedalia, North Carolina, where she established an art department, and only two years later was recruited to return to Howard University in Washington, D.C. to teach (Driskell 87). While at Howard, Jones worked to ensure that her students received a comprehensive art education, and required that they attend exhibitions She received a bachelor’s degree in Art Education from Howard in 1945 and continued teaching there until 1977 (Laduke 28).
Studying in Paris
Jones took her first sabbatical leave from teaching at Howard in 1937, when she was finally able to follow the advice of Meta Warrick Fuller and study in Paris (Laduke 28). According to Jones, “This country wasn’t interested in exhibiting our work or allowing us any of the opportunities that the white artists enjoyed. I made up my mind at that moment that I would go to Paris” (Rowell 358). She enrolled at the Academie Julian for a year under a General Education Board fellowship , and spent much of her time painting portraits of local Parisians and landscapes of the Left Bank (Driskell 88). While in Paris, Jones studied under Jules Adler, Joseph Berges, Pierre Montezin, and G. Maury, and her artistic style also changed: she became more impressionist, using a looser brush stroke and lighter color palette, although over time she evolved into postimpressionism. During her time in Paris, Jones grew as an African-American artist: for the first time, Jones was able to see herself as primarily an artist, rather than a black artist, because she was able to exhibit her work without racial bias. Every summer following her sabbatical year, Jones returned to Paris to paint the French countryside (Driskell 88, Laduke 29-30).
During her time in Paris, Jones also became increasingly influenced by African masks during this period because of their appearances in French exhibitions, which led to her work “Les Fetishes,” painted in 1938. In addition to African masks, this painting was also strongly influenced by Jones’ earlier work in designing for dance and theater. Faith Ringgold said, “Les Fetishes forecasts the important role of the mask in Lois’s art. It is a hollow-eyed mask face in muted tones and warm greys, a strongly singular piece of a type that would find its full force in Lois’s African period of the late sixties and early seventies.” The painting is covered in large, blanketing arcs and emphasizes volume, while much of her later work is even more Africa-inspired and features more flat, two-dimensional, angled, and decorative (Laduke 29).
The painting can be described as post-Cubist, as Cubism was based off of African masks, and post-Primitivist, and depicts five extremely intricate African masks frenetic movement, like participants in some sort of masked ceremony. Because the masks overlap over a black background, the reader is given a feeling of excitement and intensity. The various masks depicted in the painting symbolize different African cultural groups, including Songye Kifwebe and Guru Dan (Finley 58-60). Jones began the piece after going into Parisian galleries where masks where displayed and sketching what she saw, before returning to her studio to expand the sketch into a larger piece. According to Jones of her time as a professor, “The students thought that they were the ones who were bringing African art into recognition. I told them that in 1937, before they were born, I had painted Les Fetiches and, still earlier, a painting of masks that were reproduced on the cover of Opportunity Magazine in 1928. Another painting entitled The Ascent of Ethiopia was exhibited at the first Harmon Foundation Exhibit. All go far back in time, and all are my favorites” (Rowell, 369-370).
Jones returned to Boston in 1938 and exhibited her Parisian street landscapes and portraits at the Vose Gallery and was critically acclaimed, which was unusual for an African-American artist. In 1940, Jones invited a close friend from Paris, Celine Tabary to visit her in the United States, and Tabary ended up staying for seven years due to World War II. They lived and painted together in Washington, D.C., and Tabary often took Jones’ work to exhibit in galleries successfully, which would not have been possible if it had been known that the artist was actually black. “I discovered that not only being black, but being a woman created a double handicap for me to face…These white women made it. I should have made it also, but because of my color and racial situation, it wasn’t possible” (Rowell 362). In the 1940s Jones often visited New York City and became acquainted with many key figures in the Harlem Renaissance, who encouraged her to make use of her African ancestry in her work.
A key piece of Jones’ repertoire is her 1944 oil painting Meditation (Mob Victim). This painting was inspired by the influx in lynchings in the United States at the time, and Jones was compelled to create a piece reflecting this reality. She was given an opportunity while walking down U Street in Washington, D.C., when she came across a man who seemed to be perfect for her model. According to Jones, “I remember he had two guitars on his back and he was rather a clochard-looking type with a slouched hat and long black overcoat, a curious looking individual. But under that hat, I caught the expression of his eyes and his bearded face; he was just the type I needed” (Rowell 362). Jones asked him to sit for her, and he appeared at her apartment two days later. She told him that she wanted to make him look like a man about to be lynched, to which he replied, “But daughter, you know I worked in the South, and my master took me and the other workers in the wagon to see one of our brothers lynched” (Rowell 362-363). Jones asked him to elaborate, and he told her that as the man was about to be lynched, he simply looked heavenward. Jones stopped him as he looked up, and determined that she had found the perfect angle and pose from which to paint the man.
She originally posed him with a noose tied around his neck, but decided to simplify it to allow greater focus upon his expression. Jones portrays the man with rope tied around his hands, and perfectly depicts his desperate and agonized expression through the use of quick brushstrokes and thick paint in brown, gray, and black with blackened vegetation in the backdrop. Like some of Jones’ other paintings, Mob Victim evokes a dichotomy between power and resignation. In 1966, the painting won first honorable mention for oil painting at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris (Laduke 29). Jones used the same model multiple times for painting such as The Banjo Player and Janitor, and considered him to be one of her best models.
From 1946 until 1953, Jones returned to the south of France every summer to paint the landscape. In 1953, Jones married a graphic designer from Haiti, Louis Vergniaud Pierre Noel, who soon thereafter took her to Haiti. This began an important Haitian influence upon her painting, as she incorporated brighter colors, voodoo symbols, and veve designs. Haitian President Magloire asked Jones to paint a series of works of Haitian life, some of which were displayed in 1954 in Washington, D.C. (Laduke 30).
Marriage and Later Life
Jones and her husband split their time throughout the year between Washington, D.C., because Jones still taught at Howard, Martha’s Vineyard, where her family maintained a vacation home, and Haiti. Jones had a studio in each of these locations, and taught classes at the Art Center in Haiti and actively promoted the work of Haitian artists. Jones and Noel had a very close marriage, although they were unable to have children. “Ours was a marvelous companionship of thirty years: we travelled together, we worked together, and we had joint studios” (Rowell 366). Noel was dedicated to his wife’s artwork, and considered her paintings to be their children (Laduke 30).
Although Jones was mostly exempt from racial discrimination at the traditionally black Howard University, she still faced sexual discrimination from the chairman of the art department. He felt that Jones should pursue a more feminine career of watercolor painting rather than oil, which was already taught by James Porter. Jones persisted in using oil as her primary medium, although she was still forced to teach watercolor classes. Howard University commemorated Jones’ career in 1972 with an exhibition of her work, entitled, “Forty Years of Painting, 1932-1972.” While Jones took pride in her work and heritage as an African-American and a woman, she also desired to be primarily known as an American artist, rather than a black female painter (Laduke 30).
In 1970, Jones took her first trip to Africa at the age of 65, and returned in 1972 and visited fourteen countries. These trips to Africa greatly influenced Jones’ art, as she introduced cultural themes from Africa into her work. One of her most famous works, Ubi Girl from Tai Region, painted in 1972, was inspired by trips to Africa. The painting depicts the head of a young girl about to become initiated into her tribe. Her face is painted in red and white in patterns which symbolize protection. The background features a profile of a heddle pulley from the Ivory Coast and reiterations of designs and masks from Zaire.
In 1986, Faith Ringgold said of Ubi Girl from Tai Region, “Ubi Girl combines the old with the new; Africa with Black America; painting with design; realism with symbolism. It reveals a new woman…Ubi Girl from Tai Region has the face of determination. She is painted realistically, a portrait of us: Africa and Black America. Her partially masked face is strong but sweet as the flower of Black expression” (Blandy 111). The painting exemplifies Jones’ appreciation for bright colors, design, and African and Haitian themes, and “is very similar to the visual effects of collage and shows Jones’s ability to explore formal artistic values and recognizable subject matter simultaneously” (Worteck 98-99).
Jones later worked to document and honor the work of African, African-American and Haitian artists, and her work has also garnered her a great deal of recognitions and awards. Of her awards, Jones said that “nice things are happening, but late,” referencing her exclusion from the art world due to her race and sex (Rowell 369). President Carter honored Jones in 1980 for her achievements, and she was awarded with the Women’s Caucus for Art Honors Award in 1986. “Beginning as a student of Post-Impressionism, she evolved through Cubist form to the flat, abstract patterns of African Art, a natural progression for many 20th-centry artists, but most essentially appropriate for an African-American artist. She championed the cause of black artists and acted as mentor to several generations of them as an educator at Howard University. Yet her goal always has been to be known as an American Artist” (Laduke 32). Jones reflected: “I can look back on my work and be inspired by France, Haiti, Africa, the Black experience, and Martha’s Vineyard (where it all began) and admit: there is no end to creative expression” (Rowell 372).
Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000)
Introduction
Jacob Lawrence is one of the most heralded and well-known artists of the Harlem Renaissance. Skyrocketed into prestige for his Migration Series while still in his 20s, Lawrence’s paintings told stories of historical figures as well as current local and global events. Lawrence is a product of his time and age, an artist able to profit from his predecessors’ and mentors’ prior successes. Developing a distinct style with strong organization and a use of primary colors with “extreme simplicity,” Lawrence created a recognized style which carried into his work throughout his career (Lewis, 130). An understanding of Lawrence’s life and work is one which crosses time and place; just as his narrative paintings sought to portray history, his career displays the span of social movements and subject matter he engaged in his artwork.
Early Life and Burgeoning Career
Born in 1917 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Lawrence spent time living in a foster home in Philadelphia before being called to live in New York City with his mother in 1930 (Hills, 9). Lawrence took art classes at different art establishments and studied under well-known Harlem Renaissance artists like Charles Alston and Augusta Savage. For example, while studying at the Harlem Art Workshop, Lawrence began working under the tutelage of Alston who, recognizing the young artist’s talent, let Lawrence develop his style and ability (Hills, 20). Lawrence’s distinct approach began at an young age: “Early on he developed his signature style of working with descriptive lines, patterns of light and dark, and a limited palette of flat, unmodulated colors for composing his pictures…” (Hills, 14). A frequenter of 306, the art hub started by Charles Alston (see Charles Alston wiki entry for further detail), Lawrence, engaged in discussion of art, social, and political issues with older, more experienced artists. In the late 1930s, Lawrence began working with Augusta Savage who introduced him to other great Harlem Renaissance thinkers who would influence his artwork. Characters like Alain Locke, Aaron Douglas, Claude McKay, and Countee Cullen floated in and out of his developing social life thanks to Lawrence’s connections with Savage (Lewis, 129). Savage would also come to help Lawrence secure his first Works Progress Administration project, and the generational difference between pioneers like Alston and Savage and younger artists like Lawrence impacted his personal and professional development.
At the age of eighteen, Alston joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and was stationed at Breeze Hill Camp. With the assignment of working on flood control projects, Breeze Hill Camp became notorious for its racism and poor physical conditions (Hills, 27). Though Lawrence never spoke out about his time at Breeze Hill, the experience shaped him by giving him a worldlier and mature perspective about his world. After returning, Lawrence enrolled at the American Arts School, maybe because Alston and his roommate Henry Bannarn were no longer offering formal art classes at 306 (Hills, 35). Here, Lawrence found some of his teachers well versed in Marxist ways of thought and his later historical work would embody—consciously or not—the idea that “the philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it” (Hills quoting Marx, 59).
Career in the Visual Arts: Historical narrations through artwork
Though Lawrence is best known for his Migration series, which will be discussed later, his series of paintings began with a portrayal of the life of Toussaint L’Ouverture, the rebel and political leader of Haiti. Seeing his painting as a much bigger entity than forty-one paintings for display, Lawrence invested this series with greater purpose. He claims that this painting was not simply a portrayal of the past:
“…I believe these things tie up the Negro today. We don’t have physical slavery, but economic slavery. If these people, who were so much worse off than the people today could conquer their slavery, we certainly can do the same thing. They had to liberate themselves without any education. Today we can’t go about it the same way… How will it come about? I don’t know. I’m not a politician” (Hills, 59).
Lawrence’s interest in history may have led him to the creation of his series, yet this passion also birthed art which proudly portrayed black history. Lawrence claimed that since black history had not really been presented to him during his public education, he felt intrigued, and wanted to give the subject its due attention through his narrative paintings (Hills, 58). Lawrence also painted historical series for the lives of Frederick Douglas and Harriet Tubman, two prominent figures in African American history. 
Perhaps his best known work, Lawrence’s Migration series also captures a time in African American history, although Lawrence asserted that he saw this painting as a portrayal of “contemporary life” rather than history; he depicts the migration as an epic, and manages to find beauty among the strife and struggle (Turner, 13-14). In total, Lawrence created sixty panels, waiting until he had secured a fellowship from the Rosenwald Fund to afford a studio space where he could lay out all of his panels and mediums. Lawrence researched and wrote the text (some of which is depicted below) for his entire migration series before beginning. He did so using only books, without photographic reference (Turner, 37)
Once he started painting, Lawrence worked on all sixty paintings at once, going color-by-color across his panels. In the migration series, Lawrence strove not to romanticize the conditions of blacks in the United States, but rather to relay them to the public. Lawrence frequently used the image of a ladder in his presentations, though for less obvious metaphorical purposes. While the assumption of ladders includes a vertical progression, Lawrence uses them to show the “very linkage of the chain of tradition, of the old with the new” that occurred during the Great Migration (Turner, 20).
Migration Series by Jacob Lawrence – see the complete text and visual series
http://www.phillipscollection.org/migration_series/flash/experience.cfm
Finally, Migration was also party inspired by a poem by Langston Hughes, entitled “One-Way Ticket” (1948). Hughes’ poem is worth citing in a redaction on Lawrence:
I pick up my life
And take it with me
And I put it down in
Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo, Scranton,
And any place that is North and East
And not Dixie.
Lawrence, like many of the visual artists of the Harlem Renaissance, sought to portray the making of American growth and development, and depiction of the Great Migration fits well into this goal. Through Migration, Lawrence paints the past but also provokes thought and discussion about issues of social justice and racial conditions in the United States.
Career in the Visual Arts: Brief resume of achievements post-Harlem Renaissance
After finishing his Migration Series, Lawrence resolves to visit the South. After receiving a $150 payment from Fortune magazine to publish his Migration series, Lawrence and his wife (and fellow artist) Gwendolyn Knight, visited New Orleans (Hills, 135). They took three more trips to the Sought throughout the 1940s, each time left horrified by the racial horrors inflicted upon blacks in the South.
Lawrence continued to read the poetry of Langston Hughes and even illustrated some of his poems. One such collaboration was a depiction of the 1943 Harlem Riot. Hughes published “The Ballad of Margie Polite,” and Lawrence drew a black-and-white drawing of the same name. This combination of textual and visual efforts shows how art of the Harlem Renaissance crossed boundaries and disciplines, ever enriching the products of the movement (Hills, 185).
Finally, other highlights of Lawrence’s later life include his focus on civil rights during the 1960s, his Struggles series which shows the role of African American in American history, his visits to Nigeria in 1962 and 1964, his Hiroshima paintings, and his teaching position at California State College in Hayward. He died in 2000 after having lived in the Western United States (California and Washington) with his wife.
Archibald John Motley Junior (1891-1980)
Biography
Archibald John Motley Junior is a well-known African-American painter during the time of the Harlem Renaissance. Born October 7, 1891, Motley grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. He later moved to Chicago where he worked as a day laborer. (Lewis, 72). Motley soon enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he embraced the studies of realism, portraiture, landscape, and genre painting (Patton, 121). He considered his European studies at the institute critical to his future success as an artist (Lewis, 72).
As Motley embraced his new career as a painter, he discovered a newfound love for portrait painting; those dating between 1919 and 1931 were mostly of women. Two examples of his best-known portraits are Mending Socks and The Octoroon Girl. Mending Socks depicts his paternal grandmother while The Octoroon Girl features a mulatto woman who although appears white, is one-eight black. Motley obsessed over the notion of race, and found himself regularly preoccupied with the ideologies of skin color, class, and gender. Many of his paintings rejected the African-American woman stereotype of the ‘mammy’ or the ‘jezebel.’ Rather, Archibald frequently painted images of fair-skinned women, or mulattos, who appeared both affluent and educated (Patton, 122-123).
In addition to such portraits, Motley occasionally painted images of rural, southern working-class African Americans. His 1928 artwork entitled, The Old Snuff Dipper, depicts a southern Black worker whose facial features appear very realistic against a plain backdrop. He always placed great care when painting the faces of the individuals in his portraits; he aspired to truly captivate the viewer’s attention (Patton, 123). Also in 1928, Motley displayed his artwork at a solo exhibition in New York City. The paintings shown at this time revealed his concern for the African consciousness and his interest in mystical powers (Lewis, 72).
Residing in Chicago, Motley enjoyed the freedom from critics such as Alain Locke who resided in New York City (Patton, 123). However, later on in his career, Locke did eventually manage to insist Motley’s work reflected “a broad, higher keyed and somewhat lurid color scheme, with an emphasis on the grotesque and genre side of modern Negro life” (Lewis, 72). Motley neither glorified nor enhanced his artwork; he simply depicted people as he saw them in their natural settings. After his 1928 New York City exhibition, he abandoned his interest in the African spirit, and began depicting various scenes of people merely enjoying themselves in their everyday lives. An example would be his painting entitled, The Picnic in the Grass. The painting effectively conveys people celebrating life in an urban setting. He concentrated on actions rather than individuals. He additionally loved to depict scenes of gambling and drinking as well, as these were popular images during the Prohibition Era (Lewis, 72).
Although ultimately praised for his artwork attributed to race in DuBois’s Crisis, Motley criticized African-American artists for their lack of vision. He pitied the African American artists of his time who merely painted landscapes and pictures, ignoring the portrayal of their own people and rich culture (Patton, 72). Yet despite such criticism, Motely achieved numerous accomplishments in his life, including the award for the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1929 and the Harmon Foundation in the late 1920s (Lewis, 72).
Overall, Archibald Motely loved depicting the gaieties of everyday life, and enjoyed portraying dynamic individuals using different colors and shades. He, along with another Mid-western artist, William E. Scott, had painted more portraits than any other American artist of their time (Patton, 124). His artworks inspired his audience to be good spirited and to truly appreciate the beauty of life (Lewis, 72).
Artwork
This painting, known as Mending Socks, is considered to be one of Archibald Motley’s finest works. He depicts his paternal grandmother, Emily Motley sitting in her home while mending her socks. While on the surface this picture seems simple, it encodes a deeper meaning. Obsessed with the notions of race and class, this painting depicts the differences in lifestyle between black and white people. As seen in the picture, Motely includes his grandmother, a slave, and her supposed mistress in the upper left-hand corner. A sharp contrast between light and dark is evident amongst the two women as well. Displayed at the prestigious ‘Chicago and Vicinity’ show at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1923, this painting earned Archibald Motley the reputation as an excellent up-and-coming portrait painter (Patton, 123).
Entitled The Octoroon Girl, Archibald Motley considered his 1925 painting to be one of the best portraits he had ever painted. Motley won the Harmon Foundation Gold Medal for this artwork as well. He depicts a young woman with dark hair, dark eyes, and light skin sitting complacently on a sofa against a red wall. Wearing a black velvet dress with a red-trimmed collar, a dark brown hat, and a gold necklace, she sits peacefully and poised with a composed gaze. The mulatto woman depicted is also one-eighth black, as he had an obsession with the biology of race and notion of skin color. She appears an affluent member of the middle-class. This painting rejected the popular media image of the ‘mammy’ or the ‘jezebel’ black American women (Patton 122-123).
Augusta Savage (1892-1962)
Early Life
Augusta Savage was born in Florida on February 29, 1892 as Augusta Christine Fells, the seventh of fourteen children in Grove Cove Springs. As a child, Savage often sculpted animals from the Floridian clay, but her minister father believed that she was crafting heathen images and beat her and destroyed her creations (Kort 192). When she was fifteen, Savage married John T. Moore, who died only a few years after she gave birth to their daughter, Irene (Oxford). Shortly after Moore’s death, she married James T. Savage, who worked as a carpenter, but divorced him in the early 1920s. Savage then moved to West Palm Beach with her parents, where her high school principal was so impressed with her sculpture skills that he paid her a dollar a day to teach a clay sculpture class. This job inspired in her a love of teaching, and enrolled in Tallahassee’s State Normal and Industrial School before dropping out to pursue her love of sculpture (Kort 192).
As a sculptor, Savage was first successful while selling her sculptures of farm animals at the Palm Beach County Fair. Fair administrators originally did not want to allow her selling her products because she was a black woman, but she won several prizes and caught the attention of fair official George Graham Currie. Currie asked Savage to sculpt a bust for him, and recommended that she go to New York City to pursue her career and introduced her to sculptor Solon Borglum (Kort 192).
Savage arrived in New York City by train in 1921 with only $4.60 to her name (Oxford). When Savage went to Borglum’s studio, she was told that she did not have enough money to take lessons from him, but Borglum wrote her a letter of recommendation, which, along with a bust she had sculpted of a minister, allowed her to be accepted to Cooper Union. Savage was so successful in her time at Cooper Union that an advisory committee gave her additional money when she could not afford to pay her personal expenses. While a student, Savage also independently studied art history by using the resources of the New York Public Library. The library commissioned Savage to sculpt a bust of W.E.B. DuBois and later Marcus Garvey, through whom she met Robert L. Poston. Poston was a lawyer that Savage married in 1923, but he died four months into their marriage while returning from a trip to Africa. In 1923, Savage received funding from the French government to study during the summer at Fontainebleau, but that funding was later rejected because they discovered that she was black and feared that her presence might make other students uncomfortable (Oxford). This incident led to widespread coverage in the news in New York, which in turn raised Savage’s profile after many in the art world condemned her treatment but also branded her a troublemaker, which later inhibited her work being exhibited at certain galleries (Kort 193).
The president of the National Sculpture Society, Hermon MacNeil, was horrified by Savage’s treatment and offered to take her under his wing. Savage’s work was soon thereafter recognized by the Harmon Foundation, which was dedicated to celebrating the achievements of African Americans. Despite her apparent successes, Savage was still unable to earn much money from her art and had to work as a laundress to support her family. In 1926 she earned a scholarship to study in Rome, but had to turn it down because she was unable to come up with her travel expenses (Kort 193).
Acceptance into the Art World
In 1929, Savage sculpted a bust of an African American boy which she entitled “Gamin.” In 1989, Juanita Holland affirmed that the sculpture depicted Savage’s nephew, Ellis Ford. “In this bust-length figure, Savage represented the most accessible, complex, and physiognomically accurate depiction of an ordinary African-American that had ever been achieved by any American artist” (Hinnant viii). “Gamin” represented Savage’s entrance into the mainstream art world, as it offered a fresh and representative way of depicted African-Americans in art and allowed art to become more accessible to African Americans. Critics at the time were unaware the subject was her nephew, and viewed the piece as a reflection upon the day-to-day street life of African-Americans from the perspective of a young boy who had already been exposed to such racially charged issues as identity and survival. The title, gamin, is the French word for street urchin. American artists from the Ashcan School had become famous for their depictions of such children and for using ordinary life as inspiration.
Savage created a racialized version of this movement with “Gamin,” which for many in New York was relatable to the countless similar black youths traversing the streets of Harlem. Many early criticisms of the sculpture focuses only upon the negative aspects of the boy’s countenance and described him as untrustworthy and scheming. Interestingly, this criticism came from both black and white critics, who saw Savage’s sculpture as a representation of a “street-wise Black boy already touched by the shadowy stereotypical notions about Black life on the streets of Harlem” (Hinnant 71). This criticism soon shifted, however, as critics began to recognize the strength and dignity engendered in the boy, and saw the sculpture as a commentary on the strength and hope and children often have to cultivate themselves after suffering on the streets. The boy appears in be in deep thought, which has provoked many scholastic debates about what the boy could be thinking. In this sculpture, Savage worked to expose the courage common in the black community as she imbibed her subject with personality and life while simultaneously overturning previous limited notions of black rationality. “The personality of Savage’s nephew is so completely represented that he embodied not only the impact of racism and economic challenges on the young, but also the burning quest for survival that informed the profound beauty of his generation” (Hinnant 73).
Savage created a racialized version of this movement with “Gamin,” which for many in New York was relatable to the countless similar black youths traversing the streets of Harlem. Many early criticisms of the sculpture focuses only upon the negative aspects of the boy’s countenance and described him as untrustworthy and scheming. Interestingly, this criticism came from both black and white critics, who saw Savage’s sculpture as a representation of a “street-wise Black boy already touched by the shadowy stereotypical notions about Black life on the streets of Harlem” (Hinnant 71). This criticism soon shifted, however, as critics began to recognize the strength and dignity engendered in the boy, and saw the sculpture as a commentary on the strength and hope and children often have to cultivate themselves after suffering on the streets. The boy appears in be in deep thought, which has provoked many scholastic debates about what the boy could be thinking. In this sculpture, Savage worked to expose the courage common in the black community as she imbibed her subject with personality and life while simultaneously overturning previous limited notions of black rationality. “The personality of Savage’s nephew is so completely represented that he embodied not only the impact of racism and economic challenges on the young, but also the burning quest for survival that informed the profound beauty of his generation” (Hinnant 73).
“Gamin” drew Savage praise and earned her a Julius Rosenwald Fellowship for two years of study in Europe. Other expenses were covered by members of the black communities, including many black women’s groups that were still shocked by the sting of Savage’s rejection from Fontainebleau (Kort 193). While in Europe, Savage created many plaster or bronze works of black female nudes or portraits, many of which were exhibited in salons and gained critical praise (Oxford).
In 1931, Savage returned to New York and was commissioned to sculpt busts of numerous famous African Americans, but eventually encountered more financial struggles as the Great Depression progressed. To alleviate her financial situation, Savage established the Savage Studio of Arts and Crafts. In addition to her classes, Savage’s apartment became a key location for many African-American intellectuals to gather. In 1934, she was elected to the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors, becoming the first African-American to do so. At this time, Savage also began crusading to reform the Federal Art Project, which worked for income for artists but excluded African-American artists. Her campaign was successful, and in 1937 she became the director of the Harlem Community Center, which provided classes for over 1,500 residents of Harlem including artists such as Jacob Lawrence. Savage was an effective teacher and also worked as the president of the Harlem Artists Guild and spearheaded the Vanguard Club (Kort 194).
Savage’s commitment to teaching derailed her career, although it was given a boost in 1939 when she was commissioned by the New York World’s Fair to create a sculpture that celebrated African-Americans’ achievements in music. Savage was inspired by the song by James Weldon Johnson “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and created a plaster sculpture of a harp which had choir children as its strings that stood at sixteen feet tall. The singers stood atop an arm which stretched back into a protective hand that cradled the singers, with a figure at the front kneeling and grasping a plaque which read, “Life Every Voice and Sing.”
Savage applied a black pigment to reinforce the blackness of the individuals whose cultural achievements were being celebrated, and, unlike some other African-American artists who caricatured black subjects’ traits to call attention to inaccurate stereotypes, Savage gave the individuals depicted in “The Harp” dignified features and expressions in order to evoke a positive image of black musical accomplishments (Diedrich 323). The sculpture also provides a sense of a common goal and harmony as it evokes African-Americans’ racial unity and pride and perpetual work towards social justice. Savage also uses rounded figure to lend an angelic quality to the singers, and “deliberately emphasizes their emotional presence over their descriptiveness” (Gaither 26). She allows the figures’ hands and faces to remain blurred rather than vividly detailed, which lends a heavenly aura to the sculpture by refusing to allow the viewer to become distracted by earthly details. “The Harp” was featured in the American Art Today exhibit and was extremely popular in the fair, with many visitors buying small replicas or postcards. The sculpture was ultimately destroyed, however, because Savage could not afford to have it cast in bronze (Kort 194).
After budget cuts released her from her job at the Harlem Community Center, Savage began the Salon of Contemporary Negro Art in Harlem, which was the first gallery for African-American art in the United States. Although it enjoyed a successful opening, few locals could afford the art and few whites were willing to travel to Harlem to buy it, so the gallery closed a few months later. In 1940, Savage planned a nine-city tour of her art to kick off in Chicago, but it generated little interest and had to be abandoned. Much of her art was left behind in Chicago because she could not afford to ship it back to New York. In 1945, Savage had become so frustrated with the art world that she retired and gave up sculpting. She later moved back to New York with her daughter and died there on March 27, 1962. Savage was extremely critical of her work but said, “If I can inspire one of these youngsters to develop the talent I know they possess, then my monument will be in their work” (Kort 194).
James Van Der Zee (1886-1983)
Biography
James Van Der Zee photographs provide a history of African Americans in New York spanning sixty years. He is known for his photographs of everyday African Americans in New York as well as famous black people such as Marcus Garvey and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, and later in life, Bill Cosby and Muhammad Ali.
Born in Lennox Massachusetts in 1886, Van Der Zee was largely self-taught in the art of photography. At age 20, Van Der Zee moved to New York. After a short stint as a photographer’s assistant, he opened his own photo studio in Harlem in 1916, Guarantee Photo. For the next six decades, he captured images that chronicled everyday life in Harlem. Van Der Zee was known to use elaborate props and backdrops for his photographs. He is quoted as saying, “I tried to see that every picture was better-looking than the person”. (Celebrating Black History) He heavily retouched and generously added effects to his photographs. Van Der Zee is also known for using the technique of photo montage. He superimposed images on top of one another to create a dream-like or ghostly effect.
Van Der Zee captured a side of African Americans often overlooked at the time, middle-class blacks. In 1968, Van Der Zee was discovered by photo researcher Reginald McGhee. This led to an exhibit at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art featuring Van Der Zee’s work, called “Harlem on My Mind”. At the age of 82, Van Der Zee received commissions to photograph modern celebrities, namely Cosby and Ali. McGhee has said of Van Der Zee “In these photographs, you will not see the common images of black Americans—downtrodden rural or urban citizens. Instead, you will see a people of great pride and fascinating beauty.”
Artwork
Barefoot Prophet, 1929
Couple in Raccoon Coats, 1932
(Photo: De Cock, 77)
Through Van Der Zee’s images, Americans saw Harlem in a new light. Van Der Zee presented the “New Negro” as a glamour middle class. The couple in this photograph serves as an example of the prosperous blacks of Harlem introduced to the world through Van Der Zee’s work. The pair is elaborately dressed in raccoon coats and posing with an expensive car. Van Der Zee sought to present his people with pride and dignity. Through this photograph and his other work, Van Der Zee helped to define the New Negro identity during the Harlem Renaissance.
Van Der Zee became the official photographer of activist Marcus Garvey. (Photo: De Cock, 47) Garvey, a fierce advocate of the back to Africa movement was “ so charismatic a personality…and so influential were his teachings that the twenties in Harlem are sometimes 
referre
d to as the Garvey era.” (Perry, 12) Like the other central figures and themes of the day, it is largely because of Van Der Zee’s photographs that a visual account exists. Van Der Zee shot many photographs of Garvey and the rallies and parades his teachings spawned. He worked with Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association to capture the activism of Harlem in the 1920’s. Van Der Zee’s body of work provides a record not only of everyday life in Harlem, but of the political and racial tensionss that surfaced in conventions such as the one pictured in 1924. (Photo: De Cock, 50)
REFERENCES:
African American Registry. Sargent Claude Johnson. <http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/sargent-johnson-bay-area-artist>
Blandy, Douglas Emerson, and Kristin G. Congdon. Pluralistic Approaches to Art Criticism. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1991.
Coker, Gylbert Garvin. “Charles Alston: The Legacy.” Charles Alston: Artist and Teacher. New York: Kenkeleba House Inc., 1990.
De Cock Liliane, Reginald McGhee, and Regina A. Perry. James Van Der Zee. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Morgan & Morgan, 1973. Print.
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