In reviewing art history over the course of
fifteen plus years, I have noticed a general lack of
historical documentation of African American arts as it
pertains to the African American experience. What
constitutes this lack of documentation and exposure of
African American artists? Is the art created by these artist
irrelevant to the history of art, has African American Art
not had any influence on any notable artistic periods and or
movements? Can the issues of lack of documentation of
African American art derived from a white male driven
industry? While first contemplating the issue of lack of
representation, I also had to wonder if the art created was
in majority by female artist, and if that could be the
reason for the misrepresentation? One must also decide if
the lack of historical documentation of African American art
as it relates to the African American experience is related
at all to the self-segregation of black arts in an American
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white society. African American’s have been creating and
selling their art for hundreds of years, from folk art to
the arts of the Harlem Renaissance through the twenty first
century with modern art, so why is there not historical
reference to these periods in art history books? When
speaking of African American art, the focus is generally
centered on African American Literature, poetry, stories,
and song. All of which are all well known and documented,
but the “fine” arts of African Americana are left scarcely
documented in American history of the arts.
Artist Clementine Hunter created folk art of the
African American experience on plantations of the south. A
servant on a plantation, Hunter was a self taught artist and
painted on what ever she could1. Hunter’s paintings were
never afford the privilege of being painted and gracefully
framed as many other white American Artists of the era- her
paintings on window shades, glass, and bowls are kept in
private collections. Important to the history of the United
1 See Art from Heart and Arts and Letters, pg. 291 and or Creating their Own Images, pgs235-240, 243, 249 for biography of Clementine Hunter
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States, why do these paintings have so little bearing on the
history of American art, is it because of the perception of
folk art having little monetary value? Alternatively, does
the bigotry of a hundred and more years ago reign strong in
the American art world? Hunter sold her works for twenty-
five cents each in the beginning of her “career” as an
artist in the early 1920’s, as she became more “popular” in
the 1960’s and 70’s her works did sell for hundreds of
dollars and in the 1980’s began selling for thousands of
dollars. Untrained Hunter did eventually receive an honorary
doctorate of Fine Arts from Northwestern State University
though you will not find any reference to Clementine Hunter
in any art history books. Hunter is only one of many African
American artist that were creating works of art in varying
mediums in the 1900’s. Given the time period and the
enslavement of the African American people as a whole, I can
understand why history written in the period omitted any
significance of African American art, but history cannot
explain the reasoning for continuous omission of these works
in the twenty first century. Upon research I was able to
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find a small short historical reference to African American
art, published in 1930 the books cites “Negro” arts for
“those whom may be interested in the topic”2. Strange
enough, many African Americans are listed and referenced in
music, theater and literature, but artist of fine art are
omitted, there not any reference to Clementine Hunter,
rather the painter listed; Henry O. Tanner is a white male
painter that depicted African Americans. Even more
astonishing that the only painter listed in fact was a white
male, the single artist sculptor that was listed was in fact
female. Completely confused as to why a white male is listed
in a historical reference to “Negro” art, I am even more
astonished to see a female referenced as part of the history
in a time when women were deemed insignificant and
voiceless. As I began reading and developing a theory that
the African American was omitted form art history because of
the cultural heritage and the bias of the early twentieth
century, here is a woman listed as a “professional “ artist.
2 Brawley, Benjamin G. The Negro in Literature and Art, Duffield and CO, New York 1930 pg; 138-159
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Meta Warrick Fuller3 created works in the 1890’s, her works
were celebrated in some circle in the early 1900’s and she
was even displayed in the Salon 1903, Fuller is another name
that you will not find any historical reference to in any
art history text. A majority of Fuller’s works where
destroyed in fires set to her home and workshop, so one must
ask if this is the reason she has been omitted from art
history text? Perhaps there are no viable images of her work
to put in a textbook referencing art history? Looking at
early African American art, and the lack of historical
record kept of the art created is easily explained away by
the bigotry of the era it was created in. Who would expect
that the creations of a body of people that were enslaved
would grace the pages of white American art history, when
these people were not afforded general rights of the public
it is easy to explain the omission of their creative works-
then but not in the twenty first century. In the current
time of the United States, one has to wonder why these works
3 See Arts and Letters, pg.; 223 and or Creating their Own Image pg.; 4, 64-70, 71-73, 75,79,87,107 for Meta Warrick Fuller biography
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have not been added to currently published art historical
references. As a society are we not ready to face the images
of the horrors and life that our ancestors placed on the
African Americans, or can it be explained away by there not
being any physical evidence of these works? The later is
obviously untrue, as many in the south hold private
collections of these works of art4. Arts and Letters an A-Z
reference of Writers, Musicians, and Artists of the African
American Experience does have a paragraph on both the above
mention artists with many others, including multiple male
artists. The book is a collection of African American art,
both here in the states and in the motherland of Africa, but
unlike any art history book, there are no images or
pictorial references. Having both historical reference to
both male and female artists, I can assume then that the
lack of representation of African American arts as related
to the African American experience has not been omitted
based solely on male hypocrisy.
4 Historical documentation of these works does exist in manyAfrican American art texts, see works cited for a list of texts
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As the United States grew as a nation, so did the
African American experience. Jumping ahead a few decades
brings the Harlem Renaissance5, a remarkable time for the
United States and the African Americans that were creating
art. A huge impact on the history of the United States,
numerous African American Artists emerged, though none are
referenced in any art history texts? The Harlem Renaissance
is vastly written about, poetry, lyrics, and performance,
but is rarely even defined by the art that also took place
during the period. Born through the civil rights movement,
multitudes of artists emerged creating and depicting the
African American experience. Hallmarks of the Harlem
Renaissance included social and political engagement, a view
that art had the ability to encourage change and the ideal
of separatism- self-contained “ black aesthetic”. From this
view point of a separate “black aesthetic” and the “esthetic
pleasure of blackness focused on reception by black
5 Harlem Renaissance, see Art: African American, Black Arts West and or L.A. Object and David Hammons body
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audiences”6, may be the reason that African American artist
remained unlisted and documented by the larger majority
white male art world. Romare Bearden7 created multiple works
that depicted not only the African American experience but
also that of the African American jazz movement and multiple
images for children’s books. Married to Nanette Rohan a
female African American artist, the two were active in
numerous arts organizations in Harlem. Bearden received a
multitude of accolades during his artistic career, a
commission by the Supreme Court, multiple publications and
public collections at the Metropolitan, Whitney,
Philadelphia and Boston Museums of art. Receiving honors
from Pratt and Carnegie Mellon University among a long list
of others, still you will not find Romare Bearden in any
historical text beyond a dedication to African American art.
Charles White, John Otterbridge and Ed Bereal were all
creating masterpieces of art depicting the African American
experience during and post Harlem Renaissance, their works
6 Widener, David Black Arts West7 See http://www.beardenfoundation.org/ for Romare Beardon biography
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both evoke a feeling of despair, and triumph of the African
American story throughout history. In researching each and
all theses artist you will find them referenced s the “most
influential” of their time. Others are noted as being the
groundbreakers of a period of art unlike any previous to the
Harlem Renaissance, but you will still find not a single
reference to any of the Harlem Renaissance artist in art
history texts. Finding artist of the Harlem Renaissance
outside the musical and literal genre is beyond difficult.
Referenced L.A object and Black Arts West, you will not find any
Harlem Renaissance artist listed of referenced in
traditional art history text outside a dedicated forum to
African American Arts. With so many creators of such
historically viable art-, how does it get lost in
translation? These artist gathered inspiration from the same
influences through art history, the art of African Americans
seems to follow the same path of movements and periods of
the history books from classical to impressionism to cubism
and modern, but they have been completely omitted? In the
biographies of theses artist you will find recognizable
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names like Joan Miro and others, so obviously they were not
segregated from other “main stream” artist, they congregated
in the same circles- but remain as pages in only African
American referenced art history books? The African American
Experience edited by Kai Wright, a text on Black History and
Culture completely omits any regards to any African American
art as it relates to the African American experience. If
Wright an African American has completely disregarded any
art created by African Americans, how then does the theory
of the omission of African American art in historical text
by white male Americans hold true? I am still left to ponder
Why the art by these artist of an expanse of hundreds of
years not qualify of historical importance to any art
history text, subjugated outside of African American art?
As the twenty first century brought forth modern art,
African American art continued into modernism as well, and
for the first time an African American artist is named and
celebrated in modern art across cultural barriers;
Basquiat8. Immediately I question his success by the success
8 See http://www.basquiat.com for biography and works
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of his peers. Having been befriended by the famed Andy
Warhol, or is his success in the American art culture and
world more so to the content of his work. Basquiat created
images of the African American experiences and his cultural
background, the abstraction of his works left much to be
defined. Unlike the works of many Harlem Renaissance artist
and those that preceded him, their realist works clearly
depicted a hard and true reality. Basquiat’s paintings
referenced African American heritage, TV, and street art in
eloquence new to the current art perspective. Basquiat
referenced African American heroes and music but was far
from creating and depicting the same imagery that other
African American artist were painting and drawing, showing
the heartache and triumphs of a minority people in the
United States. The young artist denounces his fame and dies
at a young age of a drug overdose. For many the world had
lost an influential budding artist, for the African American
art world, it was a short lived breath of prosperity and
fame in the name of many who created works as powerful and
meaningful that would never see the lime light and
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popularity that the young Basquiat saw. His fame can be
perhaps, the beginning of African American art in the
mainstream, the break through that African American artists
of the twenty first century needed to become exposed and
documented. While Basquiat lime lighted as Samo, Faith
Ringgold9 was creating art and tapestries that directly
reflected the African American experience. A Harlem native,
Ringgold referenced not only the African American experience
but also the plight of women in a twenty first century
world. Telling narratives in her work much like Barbra
Kruger, her signature is that of combining words and images
to depict personal effigy with politics. Ringgold’s works
complex in the relationship between the African American and
their Anglo counterparts are sometimes graphic and clearly
stated. I have to assume that though Ringgold’s works are
beginning to make an appearance in art history text, her
imagery defining of the African American experience has kept
her from reaching the same publicly viewed success that
9 See Creating their Own Image, pg. 134-145,147,149-157, 167-169 and or Art through the Ages pg.; 945,946 for Faith Ringgold biography
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Basquiat had lived for such a short period of time. Melvin
Edwards’s10 metaphorical series of the struggles of African
Americans “ Lynch Fragments” is another publicly celebrated
collection of works by an African American artist, but he
like Ringgold failed to receive the recognition among
history text as Basquiat, why? I have to again assume that
the context of the bodies of works presented is far beyond
the realm of “artistic qualities” that are presumed
necessary to achieve notoriety in art history text in a
white male driven institution. Is it the art that on a
social level points an obvious finger at those who write the
text that omits the African Artists from being published in
art history books? Betye Saar11 is another artist that has
reached the ranks of fame and notoriety in the United States
and in other countries, though she is seldom found in any
art history text. Saar’s works display imagery of the
African American experience through he eyes of an African
American female, known for her “Aunt Jemima” and “Uncle Tom”10 See Art through the Ages, pg.; 947 and or Arts and Letters pg.; 190 for Melvin Edwards biography11 See Creating their Own Image pg.; 148, 162-167, 229, 264-266 for Betye Saar biography
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collages, Saar was a part of the black arts movement of the
1970’s her work wildly know for the challenging the myths
and negative ideas of African Americans.
Lorna Simpson12 and Carrie Mae Weems, two other African
American artist are also among the large group of African
American artist that remain undocumented in historical
reference in the realm of Art. Both are more readily
identified with being female feminist artists before being
identified as African American artists. Simpson born in
1960, Brooklyn New York was a pioneer of conceptual
photography, her works helped to “incite a significant shift
in the view of the photographic arts transience an
malleability”. Her large format photographic works challenge
and confront narrow views of gender, history and culture. A
recipient of the International Center of Photographic
Infinity Award, still she is unaccounted for in the text of
many art history references. Weems13 also a photographer has
had uncountable accounts of accomplishments and public
accolades, public showings and multiple books and press- yet12 See http://lsimpsonstudio.com for biography13 See Creating their Own Image pg.; 212, 214-217 for biography
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she is still unknown to the likes of an art history text.
Elizabeth Catlett14, an American born Mexican sculptor and
painter is a famed artist around the world, known for her
black expressionistic works produced during the 1960’s and
1970’s and her battles with the U.S as an “alien”. Catlett
an African American created many politically charged
paintings reflecting the African American experiences before
moving to Mexico and become a resident. Catlett was the
first student to receive a M.F.A in sculpture at the
University of Iowa and won first prize at the American Negro
Exposition in Chicago 1940. Catlett’s “Homage to My Young
Black Sisters” fetched an astonishing $ 288k in 1968. After
becoming a Mexican resident she was unable to return to the
United States, deemed a “undesirable alien” in part due to
her controversial art works, Catlett is another artist of
African American heritage that has also never been
referenced in the subjectivity of art reference outside of
African American art history.
14 See Creating their Own Image pg.; 118-134, 142,143,150 for biography
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Hundreds of artists, omitted from historical reference
in the genre of art. An entire culture of people and history
irrelevant to the history of art, I find it hard to believe.
Not every artist receives the gratification of being
published and permanently marked, as an individual of
importance in time, as in art there are so many artists who
have created so many different works of art. Pieces that
embody the history of the culture, the history and politics
of the artists’ surroundings, all of these are included in
the history of art except the African American experience.
In art history you will find depictions by Goya and the
struggles of the Spanish, Thomas Heart Benton, Jose
Clemente, Diego Rivera, have all depicted the struggles of
their people with public accolades and notoriety. Many
artist of the past have graced the pages of art history
books despite the graphic and confrontational subjectivity
of their works, Goya, Picasso and Hoch, all presented images
that were against the main ideals of the artistic society.
Why then has an entire culture of people and their vast body
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of creative works been subject to deletion in the subject of
art history?
Multiple theories seem to present themselves; and I
have been unable to decipher that one in particular has lead
to the omission of African American art in the text and
subjectivity of art. Many artist of African American art
were and are of both sexes, male and female, it is hard to
rule the omission due to a lack of respect and
acknowledgement because of the sexuality of the artist. As
far back in history as the early 1900’s Mary Edmonia Lewis15
followed by Meta Warwick Fuller was one of the first
recorded female sculptors in African American history,
though you would never know that from research through an
art history text. While African American's continued
creating creative arts throughout history, many reached fame
and stardom in the public eye. During the Harlem
Renaissance, though driven by the civil right movement and
often synonymous with black rights the works created were
for “black aesthetic” and the enjoyment of the black15 See Creating their Own Image, pg.; 4, 53-65, 72,75,174 for biography and works
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perspective, I can not find true actual reference that the
artist segregated themselves or their art from the rest of
the Anglo population. As historical records show many images
of the works by early into present day African American
artists, I have concluded that it can not be from a lack of
surviving materials that these artist have not received any
notoriety in the text of art history outside cultural
specific study. Lisa E Farrington’s “Creating their Own Image”
is a complete collection of African American arts dating
back before the 1900’s and is complete with text and images
as you would find an art history reference.
One can postulate that one specific reason that African
American art has be neglected to be discussed in art history
is based on the genera of the early work being “Folk” art.
Folk art16 as defined is the art produced from an indigenous
culture, peasants or other laboring tradespeople, unschooled
artists. Art history of the relevant time frame for African
American artist in the United States is based upon
“Classical art”, at a time when realism and European16 See http://www.thefreedictionary.com, definition of folk art
19
influence was at a high, scholarly influence in the writing
of art history would delineate from referencing art created
outside the classical influence. Though some of the art
dating back to the early 1900’s, African American art
reflected the theories and styling of classicism, it was
still produced by an enslaved people, giving recognition and
accolades to such artist would have been tierney. Mary
Edmonia Lewis was reveled and admired in her day, but as an
African American, she will never receive the accreditation
owed to her as a Professional artist.
What does keep present African American artists from
filling the pages of art history books and text? I can only
surmise that the contexts of the bodies of work presented
are still far to advance for a white society to swallow. The
context of the images, confrontational and “grotesque” for
some are with held from history until the American
population can come to terms with the idea that perhaps the
African American society of artist is as creative and
influential as that of a white European society. As Lisa E.
Farrington suggest in “Creating their own image”, African American
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arts have been grossly under documented and historically
recorded because of the commandeering and regulation of the
arts by Anglo Americans. Farrington has only brushed the tip
of the iceberg of African American arts, as she has vastly
explored the female African American artist but not the
works of their male counterparts. Until both sexes are
represented and researched in entirety the next generations
of art students and pupils will continue to be subjected to
art as it is viewed through a predominantly Anglo male
populated and governed society and the arts of the African
American experience will continue to be a privilege to only
those who choose to research it.
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Work Cited
Appiah Kwame A., Gates Henry L. “Arts and Letters” An A-to –Z
reference of Writers, Musicians, and Artists of the African
American Experience. Running Press. Philadelphia
Pennsylvania. 2004
Brawley, Benjamin. “The Negro in Literature and Art in the United States”.
Duffield & Company. New York. 1930
Farrington, Lisa E. “Creating Their Own Image, The History of African
American Women Artists”. Oxford University Press. Oxford New
York. 2005
22
Hoban, Phoebe. “Basquiat, A quick killing in Art”. Penguin Books. New
York, New York. 2004
Lewis, Samella. “Art: African American”. Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich Inc. New York, New York. 1978
Murray, Albert. “The Blue Devil of Nada”. Pantheon Books. New
York, New York. 1996
Kleiner, Fred S. “Gardner’s Art through the Ages”. 14 ed. Wadsworth
Cengage Learning. Boston, Massachusetts. 2013
Sayre, Henry M. “A world of Art”. 6th ed. Prentice Hall. Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey. 2010
Tilton Connie Rogers, L.A Object and David Hammons body, ISBN 978-
1427613745
Whitehead Kathy, Evans Shane W. “Art from her Heart, folk artist
Clementine Hunter”. G.P Putnam’s Sons. New York, New York. 2008
23
Widener, David Black Arts West, ISBN 978082234
Wright Kai, “The African American Experience, Black History and Culture”.
Black dog and Leventhal. New York, New York. 2009
http://www.beardenfoundation.org/
http://www.basquiat.com
http://lsimpsonstudio.com
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