BLK ART: The Audacious Legacy of Black Artists and Models in Western Art

The art world has been shaken by the dismissal of Black art masters and models, who have been a part of the Western art world since its beginnings. Beyoncé and Jay-Z's music video in the Louvre, Kehinde Wiley's subversions of European masterworks, and calls for diversity in museums have all contributed to this. BLK ART is an essential work that elevates a globally dismissed legacy to its proper place in the mainstream art canon, showcasing the diverse lives of Black men and women who helped shape the art world.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 16 March 2023
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc

Elegance. Refinement. Exclusion. Interrupted. The foundations of the fine art world are trembling. Beyoncé and Jay-Z break the internet by seamlessly blending modern Black culture with fine art in their iconic music video, filmed in the Louvre. Kehinde Wiley powerfully challenges European masterworks. Calls for diversity in museums and the resignations of leaders of the old guard resound. It is evident that modern-day museums cannot exist without change—and without recognizing that Black people have been a part of the Western art world since its inception. Quietly held within museum and private collections around the world are hundreds of faces of Black men and women, many of their stories unknown. From paintings of majestic kings to a portrait of a young girl named Isabella in Amsterdam, these models lived diverse lives while contributing to the shaping of the art world along the way. Then, after hundreds of years of Black faces being cast as only the subject of the white gaze, a small group of pioneering Black American painters and sculptors achieved national and international fame, setting the stage for the flourishing of Black art in the 1920s and beyond. Captivating and informative, BLK ART is an essential work that elevates a globally dismissed legacy to its rightful place in the mainstream art canon. From the hushed corridors of royal palaces to the bustling streets of 1920s Paris—this is Black history like never seen before.

Elegance. Refinement. Exclusion. Interrupted. The foundations of the fine art world are trembling. Beyoncé and Jay-Z break the internet by seamlessly blending modern Black culture with fine art in their iconic music video, filmed in the Louvre. Kehinde Wiley powerfully challenges European masterworks. Calls for diversity in museums and the resignations of leaders of the old guard resound. It is evident that modern-day museums cannot exist without change—and without recognizing that Black people have been a part of the Western art world since its inception. Quietly held within museum and private collections around the world are hundreds of faces of Black men and women, many of their stories unknown. From paintings of majestic kings to a portrait of a young girl named Isabella in Amsterdam, these models lived diverse lives while contributing to the shaping of the art world along the way. Then, after hundreds of years of Black faces being cast as only the subject of the white gaze, a small group of pioneering Black American painters and sculptors achieved national and international fame, setting the stage for the flourishing of Black art in the 1920s and beyond. Captivating and informative, BLK ART is an essential work that elevates a globally dismissed legacy to its rightful place in the mainstream art canon. From the hushed corridors of royal palaces to the bustling streets of 1920s Paris—this is Black history like never seen before.

Weight: 886g
Dimension: 209 x 262 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780063272415