PAINTED NEARLY 50 YEARS AGO, Alma Thomas‘s ode to “Spring Flowers in Washington D.C.” set an artist record yesterday, topping more than $300,000 at Los Angeles Modern Auctions. Grounded in pink, the mesmerizing square canvas is a rhythmic composition of pattern and color. Nearly four hours after the Modern Art & Design Auction started...
From left, Jefferson Pinder and Sam Gilliam THE HIRSHHORN MUSUEM and Sculpture Garden is honoring contemporary artists who live and work in Washington, D.C., including Sam Gilliam and Jefferson Pinder. After hosting two galas in New York, the Smithsonian museum is bringing its fundraising celebration home. In addition to Gilliam and Pinder, Linn Meyers,...
THE DIA ART FOUNDATION appointed Courtney J. Martin deputy director and chief curator. An assistant professor of art history and architecture at Brown University, she curated an exhibition of the American painter Robert Ryman at Dia:Chelsea in 2015-16. It was the Dia’s first exhibition in Chelsea in more than a decade and Ryman’s first...
ALMA THOMAS, “Spring Flowers in Washington D.C. (1969) is being offered at LA Modern Auctions on March 5. IN A HANDWRITTEN LETTER, Alma Thomas (1891-1978) thanked an aspiring young African American physician for sending his final payment to purchase one of her paintings. The California college student visited Thomas’s studio in 1969 and decided...
Installation view of “Songs of My People: 25 Years Later,” at George Washington University. | Photo courtesy Gallery 102 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO, before social media existed and online news outlets were few, there were scant alternatives to combat negative portrayals in mainstream media. “The African American community was not being covered fairly in the...
LOS ANGELES ARTIST Henry Taylor is bringing California cool to the High Line next month with a massive mural. Debuting March 17, “the floaters” is a self-portrait featuring the sunglass-wearing artist leisurely lounging in an enchanting blue pool. Taylor is also featured in the Whitney Biennial, which opens the same day at the nearby...
A post shared by CHRISTIE'S (@christiesinc) on Feb 26, 2017 at 11:46am PST SITUATED BETWEEN “Love in the Night,” by Yayoi Kusama and John Baldessari’s “Exulting Figure (With Coins) and Witness,” a masterful body print by David Hammons is on display at Christie’s New York at Rockefeller Center. Depicting a lone figure executed...
Julie Mehretu, “Looking Back to a Bright New Future” (2003). A MAJOR PAINTING by Julie Mehretu is on view in the contemporary art galleries at the Detroit Institute of the Arts (DIA). A symphony of line, color, and form, “Looking Back to a Bright Future” (2003) is on loan from a private collection for...
James Baldwin in “I Am Not Your Negro.” | Photo by Dan Budnick THERE IS TRUE ARTISTRY in “I Am Not Your Negro.” Inspired by the writings and profound insights of James Baldwin (1924-1987), Raoul Peck’s seminal film manages to synthesize more than 50 years of America’s woeful racism and dogged inhumanity into 93...
HOW DID THE 20TH CENTURY’S most important African American artists discover their crafts? These beautifully illustrated books reveal how each got their start. For Jacob Lawrence, it was his childhood in Harlem where the hustle and colors of the neighborhood inspired his interest in art. His compelling story and those of Benny Andrews, Romare...
MONUMENTAL INSTALLATIONS composed of black scaffolding have been the star attraction at Rashid Johnson‘s recent exhibitions. Last fall, “Fly Away” at Hauser & Wirth in New York featured “Antoine’s Organ,” the artist’s largest architectural grid work ever shown in the United States. Overflowing with plants, and filled with lights, video screens, shea butter and...
SAM MIDDLETON, “Jazz is Free As a Bird,” 1972 (mixed media oil and collage on board). | Courtesy GP Contemporary LAST FALL, LEAFING THROUGH the catalog for the Oct. 6, 2016, African-American Fine Art sale at Swann Auction Galleries, an abstract painting by Sam Middleton (1927-2015) stood out. Titled “Jazz Is Free As A...
Embed from Getty Images INNOVATIVE AND RELEVANT PROGRAMMING has become a signature of the California African American Museum (CAAM) over the past year. Recent presentations have included “Hank Willis Thomas: Black Righteous Space”; “Genevieve Gaignard: Smell the Roses,” the first museum exhibition of the emerging artist; and a group exhibition featuring four contemporary African...
Julie Mehretu, “Looking Back to a Bright New Future” (2003). EARLY NEXT MONTH, major auction houses in New York and London are holding post-war and contemporary art sales. In anticipation of the first significant offerings of the year, Culture Type is assessing the state of art by Black artists. In recent years, a cluster...
Embed from Getty Images LONDON’S ART FUND announced the appointment of artist Isaac Julien to its board of trustees for a five year term. Art Fund is a national fundraising charity that encourages exposure and access to art in public collections throughout the UK by supporting museum and gallery acquisitions, exhibitions, special curatorial projects,...
A NUMBER OF EXHIBITION FIRSTS coincide with Black History Month this year. “Royal Flush,” Nina Chanel Abney’s first solo museum show opens Feb. 16 at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. In February, South African artist Nicholas Hlobo is presenting his first exhibition in Sweden. Major works by British artists Yinka Shonibare...
KARA WALKER, “40 Acres of Mules,” 2015 THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART’S collection boasts dozens of new additions by African American artists. Over the past two years the museum has acquired paintings by Mark Bradford, Kerry James Marshall, Chris Ofili, and Faith Ringgold; drawings by Palmer Hayden, Adrian Piper, and Kara Walker; sculptures by...
Los Angeles-based independent curator Erin Christovale specializes in film programming. | Photo by Jamie Costa, Courtesy Hammer Museum EVERY OTHER YEAR, Los Angeles comes alive with coordinated exhibition programming showcasing the city’s most promising artists and innovative practices. Made in L.A. is the citywide biennial presented by the Hammer Museum. The fourth edition will...
PALMER HAYDEN, “Untitled (Dreamer),” circa 1930 IN DECEMBER, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) acquired “Three Folk Musicians” (1967), a major work by Romare Bearden. When the purchase was announced, VMFA Director Alex Nyerges said the collage painting “bolsters our effort to represent a diverse range of cultures in our galleries and allows...
Embed from Getty Images THE J. PAUL GETTY TRUST announced today the addition of influential art collector Pamela J. Joyner to its board of trustees. A financial industry veteran, Joyner is the founder of Avid Partners, LLC. Currently, she has turned her focus to philanthropy and an increasingly pivotal role in the arts. Joyner’s...
Barnes Foundation Appointed Judia S. Jackson Head of Human Resources and Culture at Philadelphia Museum
Jun 1, 2025
Malcolm X at 100: Transformational Leader and Outspoken Orator Inspired Artworks by Jack Whitten and Barbara Chase-Riboud
May 30, 2025
Alma Thomas Way: Washington D.C., Street Where Famous African American Artist Lived is Now Named in Her Honor
May 26, 2025
On View: ‘Vanessa German: Gumball’ Presented Monumental Heads and Fallen Figures at Kasmin Gallery in New York
May 11, 2025
Los Angeles Artist Alison Saar is 2025 Recipient of David C. Driskell Prize, For 20 Years Award Has Recognized ‘Field-Defining’ Contributions to African American Art
May 9, 2025
