KERRY JAMES MARSHALL, “Haul,” 2025 (acrylic on PVC panel in artist’s frame, 221 x 321 cm). | © Kerry James Marshall. Image courtesy David Zwirner, London. Photo: Kerry McFate
ONE OF THE GREAT HISTORY PAINTERS of our time, American artist Kerry James Marshall‘s latest exhibition is aptly titled. “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories” at the Royal Academy of Art in London, explores multiple histories.
There are the six centuries of Western art history and representational painting that have deeply influenced and inspired Marshall and with which he also contends. Black subjects are largely absent from the canon and historically have not been seen on the walls of museums. For more than 40 years Marshall has responded with large-scale paintings that center the Black figure and picture Black histories and Black experiences.
There is also Birmingham, Ala.-born, Chicago-based Marshall’s own artistic history, the record of his career to date, which is documented in the exhibition with more than 70 works. Mostly paintings are on view, with some prints, drawings, and sculpture, brought together from public and private collections across the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Dating from 1980 to the present, selections include 11 series and groups of works displayed throughout multiple galleries. The images span the Middle Passage, Civil Rights and Black Power Movements, portraits of artists in the studio, beatific images of public housing, and scenes of leisure and gathering.
Some of Marshall’s most celebrated works are featured in the retrospective: “A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self” (1980); “Invisible Man” (1986); “De Style” (1993); “Great America” (1994); School of Beauty, School of Culture” (2012); “Untitled (Black Policeman) (2015); and “Still Life With Wedding Portrait” (2015), an imagined depiction of Harriet Tubman and her first husband, John Tubman.
In addition, “Knowledge and Wonder” (1995), from the collection of the Chicago Public Library is on display for the first time outside Chicago. Standing nearly 10 feet high and 23 feet in length, the monumental painting is the largest Marshall has produced.
(Thirty years ago, “Knowledge and Wonder” was commissioned by the City of Chicago for the Legler Branch Library. In 2018, the work was headed to auction at Christie’s New York before being withdrawn due to public outcry and the objection of Marshall.)
“In the new paintings, they’re chiefly Black figures in Black history who benefited from slavery. Making the difficult point that an evolution towards truth doesn’t always take you where you wanted to go.” — Darby English
Gallery view of “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories,” Royal Academy of Arts, London (Sept. 20, 2025-Jan. 18, 2026). | © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
The highlight of the “The Histories” is eight new paintings made specifically for the show, including “The Haul” (2025) and “Abduction of Olaudah and his sister” (2023). The works explore the transatlantic slave trade and the rarely acknowledged history of the active participation of Black Africans in the enslavement of their own people. Darby English wrote about the new body of work in the exhibition catalog.
“In Marshall’s view, individual, personal ambition—and the representation thereof—is a pathway, not an obstacle, to collective evolution. His Black people ‘are doing stuff. They’re the ones doing stuff. Nothing’s being done to them,'” English wrote in an essay titled Surprising Representatives.
“In the new paintings, they’re chiefly Black figures in Black history who benefited from slavery. Making the difficult point that an evolution towards truth doesn’t always take you where you wanted to go.”
“The Histories” is Marshall’s largest-ever presentation in the United Kingdom. Independent curator Mark Godfrey is the lead curator of the exhibition. Godfrey was a co-curator of “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Back Power” at Tate Modern. “The Histories” follows the election of Marshall as a Honorary Royal Academician in 2022 and coincides with his 70th birthday on Oct. 17. CT
“Kerry James Marshall: The Histories” is on view at the Royal Academy of Art in London, UK, from Sept. 20, 2025-Jan. 18, 2026. The exhibition travels next to Kunsthaus Zurich in Switzerland and Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris, France
FIND MORE Currently on view, the exhibition “Rythm Mastr: The Chronicles” at The Tabernacle in Notting Hill, London, showcases works from Kerry James Marshall’s graphic novel series, from Sept. 17-Dec. 14, 2025
Gallery view of “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories,” Royal Academy of Arts, London (Sept. 20, 2025-Jan. 18, 2026). Shown, Paintings from The Garden Project series, 1994-95. | © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
Gallery view of “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories,” Royal Academy of Arts, London (Sept. 20, 2025-Jan. 18, 2026). | © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
KERRY JAMES MARSHALL, “School of Beauty, School of Culture,” 2012 (acrylic and glitter on unstretched canvas, 274.3 x 401.3 cm). | Collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama; Museum purchase with funds provided by Elizabeth (Bibby) Smith, the Collectors Circle for Contemporary Art, Jane Comer, the Sankofa Society, and general acquisition funds, 2012.57. © Kerry James Marshall. Courtesy the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photo: Sean Pathasema
Gallery view of “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories,” Royal Academy of Arts, London (Sept. 20, 2025-Jan. 18, 2026). | © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
KERRY JAMES MARSHALL, Untitled, 2009 (acrylic on PVC panel, 155.3 x 185.1 cm). | Yale University Art Gallery, Purchased with the Janet and Simeon Braguin Fund and a gift from Jacqueline L. Bradley, B.A. 1979. © Kerry James Marshall
Gallery view of “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories,” Royal Academy of Arts, London (Sept. 20, 2025-Jan. 18, 2026). Shown, Untitled (Studio), 2014. | Loan courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.. © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
KERRY JAMES MARSHALL, Untitled (Porch Deck), 2014 (acrylic on PVC panel, 180.3 x 149.9 cm). | Kravis Collection. © Kerry James Marshall. Image courtesy the artist and David Zwirner, London
Gallery view of “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories,” Royal Academy of Arts, London (Sept. 20, 2025-Jan. 18, 2026). Shown, Untitled, 2009. | On loan from a private collection. © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
Gallery view of “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories,” Royal Academy of Arts, London (Sept. 20, 2025-Jan. 18, 2026). Shown, Untitled, 2009. | On loan from a private collection. © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
KERRY JAMES MARSHALL, Untitled (Policeman), 2015 (acrylic on PVC panel with plexiglass frame, 152.4 x 152.4 cm). | The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Mimi Haas in honor of Marie-Josée Kravis, 2016. © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: The Museum of Modern Art, New York/Scala, Florence
Gallery view of “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories,” Royal Academy of Arts, London (Sept. 20, 2025-Jan. 18, 2026). | © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
Gallery view of “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories,” Royal Academy of Arts, London (Sept. 20 2025-Jan. 18, 2026). | © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
KERRY JAMES MARSHALL, “Abduction of Olaudah and his sister,” 2023 (acrylic on PVC panel in artist’s frame, 252.7 x 218.4 cm). | © Kerry James Marshall. Image courtesy David Zwirner, London. Photo: Kerry McFate
Gallery view of “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories,” Royal Academy of Arts, London (Sept. 20, 2025-Jan. 18, 2026). | © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
Gallery view of “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories,” Royal Academy of Arts, London (Sept. 20, 2025-Jan. 18, 2026). | © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
Gallery view of “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories,” Royal Academy of Arts, London (Sept. 20, 2025-Jan. 18, 2026). | © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
KERRY JAMES MARSHALL, The Academy, 2012 (acrylic on PVC, 182.9 x 154.9 cm). | Collection of Dr. Daniel S. Berger © Kerry James Marshall. Image courtesy the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
Gallery view of “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories,” Royal Academy of Arts, London (Sept. 20, 2025-Jan. 18, 2026). Shown, Untitled (Male Nude), 2012. | Loan courtesy Pinault Collection, Paris. © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
Gallery view of “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories,” Royal Academy of Arts, London (Sept. 20, 2025-Jan. 18, 2026). | © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
Gallery view of “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories,” Royal Academy of Arts, London (Sept. 20, 2025-Jan. 18, 2026). Shown, “Knowledge and Wonder,” 1995. | Loan courtesy City of Chicago Public Art Program and the Chicago Public Library, Legler Regional Library. © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
BOOKSHELF
“Kerry James Marshall: The Histories” was published on the occasion of the London exhibition. The catalog will be released widely in November and is currently available at the Royal Academy of Art. “Kerry James Marshall: Rythm Mastr. This Is How It Begins” is also a new title. “Kerry James Marshall: The Complete Prints: 1976–2022” is a hefty volume published in 2023. “Kerry James Marshall: Mastry,” accompanied the artist’s 35-year traveling retrospective. Other volumes exploring the work of Kerry James Marshall include “Kerry James Marshall: Painting and Other Stuff,” which documents a major European traveling exhibition; “Kerry James Marshall,” released by Phaidon; and “Kerry James Marshall: History of Painting,” accompanied the artist’s 2018 exhibition at David Zwirner Gallery in London.
