Visual artists of the Harlem Renaissance attempted to win control over the representation of their people from white caricature and denigration while developing a new repertoire of images. Prior to World War I, black painters and sculptors had rarely concerned themselves with African American subject matter. By the end of the 1920s, however, back artists had begun developing styles related to black aesthetic traditions or folk art. As African art became better known in Western art circles, West African cultural models gained importance for black American artists.
ARTISTS
richmond bartheHe tried his hand at sculpture and realized he had a substantial talent in that area. He used his talents to produce some of the first sculptures depicting African Americans. Following his first exhibition he moved to New York for additional studying. While in new you’re his sculptures were plentiful and depicted many themes that coincide with themes from the Harlem renaissance including the depiction of the traditional African that invokes pride in heritage.
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charles alstonAlston became the director of the Harlem Hospital’s murals, as well as the first black supervisor of the Federal Art Project in 1935. By the end of 1936, two of his works had been featured in the Museum of Modern Art.
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lois mailou jonesLois Mailou Jones cultivated her craft in painting at the School of Museum of Fine Art in Boston.
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jacob lawrencePaintings portrayed stories of African migration to the United States, particularly the South. The subsequent paintings in his Migration Series compared the discrimination that African Americans faced in the South to African American life in the North.
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augusta savageDuring the Great Depression, Savage took part in roles that assisted other struggling artists and was dedicated to teaching students art. Eventually well known for her work, she was commissioned to create a sculpture for the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
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aaron douglas
Was an African- American painter and graphic artist who played a leading role in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. Douglas was important to the Harlem Renaissance was because of his style and his subjects. He revolutionized African American art. A leader within the Harlem Renaissance, Douglas created a broad range of work that helped to shape this movement and bring it to national prominence. Douglas was referred to as “the father of black American art”, as he was central figure in the development of an artistic vocabulary that generations of African American artist would use to present their culture. His stylistic elements would influence other African American (and African- Canadian) artists who aimed to affirm Black Identity in their works. For instance, his use of bold, solid fields of color, a strategy learned from print media, and his interest in making African American history.