Black Artists in America: From the Great Depression to Civil Rights

This book explores how Black American artists responded to the political, social, and economic climate of the United States from the Great Depression to the Brown v. Board of Education decision. It features paintings, sculptures, and works on paper by artists such as Jacob Lawrence, Horace Pippin, Augusta Savage, Charles White, Elizabeth Catlett, Norman Lewis, Walter Augustus Simon, Loïs Mailou Jones, and more.

Format: Hardback
Length: 168 pages
Publication date: 07 January 2022
Publisher: Yale University Press

This comprehensive book explores the diverse responses of Black American artists to the political, social, and economic climate of the United States from the Great Depression to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision. Featuring a wide range of paintings, sculptures, and works on paper by artists such as Jacob Lawrence, Horace Pippin, Augusta Savage, Charles White, Elizabeth Catlett, Norman Lewis, Walter Augustus Simon, Lois Mailou Jones, and many more, the book recognizes the significant contributions Black artists made to Social Realism and abstraction as they grappled with the role of art in society and community. During this transformative period, Black artists played a crucial role in midcentury art movements, and government programs like the Works Progress Administration helped bring more of these artists into the mainstream.

In three chapters, Earnestine Jenkins delves into the work of Black artists during this period, examines the perspectives of Black women artists, particularly focusing on the sculpture of Augusta Savage, and explores the pedagogy of Black American art through the art and teaching of Walter Augustus Simon. Published in association with the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, the exhibition schedule for this captivating book includes a display at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in Memphis from October 17, 2021, to January 2, 2022.

Weight: 1194g
Dimension: 290 x 233 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780300260908