The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism

The Harlem Renaissance was a significant movement in the development of twentieth-century modernism, with its roots in the New Negro theories and aesthetics of Alain Locke and the writings of W. E. B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston. This volume reexamines the Harlem Renaissance as part of a global flowering of Black creativity, featuring artists such as Aaron Douglas, Charles Henry Alston, Augusta Savage, and William H. Johnson. It also includes works by lesser-known contributors, such as Laura Wheeler Waring and Samuel Joseph Brown, Jr., who took a more classical approach to depicting Black subjects with dignity, interiority, and gravitas. The works of New Negro artists active abroad are also examined in juxtaposition with those of their European and international African diasporan peers.

Format: Hardback
Length: 332 pages
Publication date: 27 February 2024
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Harlem Renaissance, a pivotal moment in the development of twentieth-century modernism, was a cultural explosion that took place in Upper Manhattan in the 1920s. This movement, led by African Americans, extended far beyond New York City, becoming a global phenomenon. This groundbreaking volume reexamines the Harlem Renaissance as part of a broader global flowering of Black creativity, drawing inspiration from the New Negro theories and aesthetics of Alain Locke, the founding philosopher. It also explores the writings of W. E. B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston, as well as the works of artists such as Aaron Douglas, Charles Henry Alston, Augusta Savage, and William H. Johnson. These artists combined the expressive figuration of European avant-garde with the aesthetics of African sculpture and folk art to capture the diverse aspects of African American city life. The publication also features the works of lesser-known contributors, such as Laura Wheeler Waring and Samuel Joseph Brown, Jr., who approached Black subjects with dignity, interiority, and gravitas. Furthermore, the book compares the works of New Negro artists active abroad with their European and international African diasporan peers, highlighting the exchange of ideas and influences that contributed to international conversations around art, race, and identity. By reframing the Harlem Renaissance in this way, the book demonstrates how Black artistic communities on both sides of the Atlantic played a crucial role in shaping our understanding of modernism.
Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press, this volume is accompanied by an exhibition that further explores the rich tapestry of the Harlem Renaissance and its impact on art and culture.

Weight: 1878g
Dimension: 241 x 289 x 33 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781588397737