Jacob Lawrence Makes Publishing History
TUCKED AMONG A SERIES of reports on the automobile industry and articles on wind energy, Africa and geopolitics, the November 1941 issue of Fortune magazine features a portfolio of 26 paintings by Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000). Eight pages are devoted to “The Migration of the Negro,” his series depicting the great migration of black Americans from...
Black Artists Join Powerhouse Galleries
ART CRITIC JERRY SALTZ recently expressed his frustration with Gagosian, Pace, Hauser & Wirth and David Zwirner galleries in New York magazine, describing the four mega dealers as overwhelming behemoths causing much consternation in the art world. In the course of breaking down the situation, one of his most fascinating anecdotes involved artist Mark...
Kara Walker: Potential Book Covers for Missing Narratives
AN ARTIST WHOSE WORK garners as much praise for its visual dexterity as it does intellectual debate for its historic and cultural provocation, Kara Walker has moved on from images of slavery and the antebellum South to explore symbols of the New Negro era. The newly published “Kara Walker: Dust Jackets for the Niggerati” complements...
For TV Guide, Romare Bearden Interprets the New NFL Season
TIME WAS, TV GUIDE WAS A FIXTURE in American family rooms across the country. Known for engaging artists to illustrate its covers, in anticipation of the 1977 NFL football season, the weekly guide of television listings turned to Romare Bearden (1911-1988) to render its cover. As a result, the work of one of America’s...
Romare Bearden, Spiral Group and the March Toward Artistic Identity
WHO IS THE NEGRO ARTIST and what is his responsibility? Ever mindful of the pivotal period in which he was living, Romare Bearden (1911-1988) set about answering these cultural questions by bringing together the Spiral group and embarking on a monumental effort to document the canon of African American artists. As civil rights leaders prepared...
