Culture Talk: Curator Kanitra Fletcher on Afro-Atlantic Histories: Exhibition is About ‘How the African Diaspora Comprises All These Voices and Lives and Experiences’
A VISUAL REVELATION, “Afro-Atlantic Histories” presents a sweeping account of the African Diaspora. The exhibition explores the “historical experiences and cultural formations” of Black people of African descent, across five centuries dating from the 17th century to the present. More than 130 works of art by artists from Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and the...
National Gallery of Art Acquires Faith Ringgold’s ‘Flag is Bleeding’ Painting: May Be Museum’s ‘Most Important Purchase of a Single Work of Contemporary Art’ Since 1976
THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART (NGA) acquired “The American People Series #18: The Flag is Bleeding” (1976), a major painting by Faith Ringgold that makes a powerful political statement about American democracy and racism. The iconic painting was acquired directly from the collection of the artist with funds gifted by the Glenstone Foundation and...
E. Carmen Ramos Departs Smithsonian to Join National Gallery of Art as Chief Curatorial and Conservation Officer
THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART (NGA) is adding to its leadership team. E. Carmen Ramos has been named chief curatorial and conservation officer, overseeing all aspects of the museum’s curatorial and conservation departments. She will be the first woman and first person of color to serve in the role. The appointment was announced May 13....
National Gallery of Art Acquires Textile Work By Christopher Myers Memorializing Victims of Police Murder
A GATHERING OF NINE silhouetted figures in a medley of autumn tones against a backdrop of patterned fabrics forms a compelling composition. It’s a striking assembly with a sobering message. “What Does It Mean to Matter (Community Autopsy)” (2019) by Christopher Myers memorializes the lives of Black people killed by police (and in police...
Damon Reaves is Joining Washington’s National Gallery of Art as Head of Education
THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART (NGA) has appointed Damon Reaves head of education. An experienced educator in museum and classroom settings, Reaves brings more than a dozen years of experience to the position. He joins the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., from the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) where he has been on staff since...
The Week in Black Art, March 22-28, 2021: Smithsonian Hiring 6 New Museum Directors, Veronica Ryan Now Represented by Paula Cooper Gallery, Gary Simmons Joins Hauser & Wirth
This post will be updated with the latest news in Black art throughout the week Portrait of Gary Simmons. | Photo by Tito Molina, HRDWRKER March 25, 2021 Smithsonian Hiring 6 New Museum Directors For the first time in its history, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., is searching for directors...
National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., Has Hired Eric L. Motley as Deputy Director
THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART (NGA) is adding to its executive ranks. Today, the museum announced the appointment of Eric L. Motley as deputy director, a critical role focused on driving the institution’s mission, building awareness and support for its programing, and expanding and better serving its audiences. He officially starts at NGA on Aug....
National Gallery of Art Acquires Howardena Pindell’s Seminal Video ‘Free, White and 21’
THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART (NGA) recently acquired “Free, White and 21” (1980), a seminal video installation by artist Howardena Pindell. She was 37 years old when she filmed herself facing the camera recounting her personal experiences with racism and bias as a young Black woman in America. Pindell also performs as a white...
National Gallery of Art Makes 4 New Hires, Including First Curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic Art
THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART (NGA) announced four new appointments today, including hires for three newly created positions. Kanitra Fletcher is the Washington, D.C., museum’s first-ever associate curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic art. Chief Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Officer Mikka Gee Conway and Eric Bruce, head of visitor experience and evaluation, are also inaugurating...
Historic Appointment: Sheila McDaniel is New Administrator at National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART (NGA) announced a major appointment this week. Sheila McDaniel is joining the museum as administrator, leading teams critical to the museum’s operations: administrative support, architecture and capital improvement, facilities, horticulture, personnel, procurement, and security. Her appointment is historic. McDaniel is the first Black woman to hold an executive officer post...
National Gallery of Art’s First Painting By a Native American Artist Speaks to Race, Rage, and Problematic Name of Local NFL Team
THE PERMANENT COLLECTION of the National Gallery of Art (NGA) includes more than 150,000 objects—paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, prints, drawings, and photographs. Only 25 of them are by Native American artists, including Jaune Quick-to-See Smith‘s “I See Red: Target” (1992), the first painting by a Native American artist to enter the collection, which was...
Historic Appointment: Steven Nelson Named Dean of Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at National Gallery of Art
THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART in Washington, D.C., announced UCLA art historian Steven Nelson has been selected as the next dean of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA). Founded in 1979, CASVA is the museum’s research institute. Currently serving as the Andrew W. Mellon Professor at CASVA (2018–2020), Nelson is on...
Professor Richard J. Powell Reflects on Archibald Motley’s ‘Portrait of My Grandmother’ at the National Gallery of Art
BEFORE HE PAINTED hotly colored Jazz Age scenes set in Chicago and Paris, Archibald Motley Jr. (1891-1981), made a loving portrait of his paternal grandmother embedded with history and the nuances of her life experience. Emily Sims Motley (1842-1929) was born in Kentucky where she was formerly enslaved. “This painting…is in some ways an...
Washington’s Government-Funded Museums are Closed in the Wake of Shutdown, Barring Visitors from Exhibitions of Dawoud Bey, Mark Bradford, Gordon Parks, and Others
Gordon Parks, Mrs. Ella Watson, Washington, D.C., July 1942 “DUE TO THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, all Smithsonian museums are closed.” The message is featured in a banner across the top of all of the institution’s websites. A similar message is posted on the doors of the museums, which closed to the public on Tuesday. The...
Dawoud Bey’s Photographic Tribute to the Victims of 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing Collapses the Past and Present
WHEN HE WAS 11 years old, a book of photographs forever changed Dawoud Bey‘s perspective in terms of his vulnerability as a black child. His parents purchased the book in 1964 after hearing James Baldwin speak at their church in Queens, N.Y. The event was part of a tour organized by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating...
Archibald Motley’s Favorite Painting, a Portrait of His Grandmother, Has Entered the Collection of the National Gallery of Art
A SELECTION OF PAINTINGS OF WOMEN IN WHITE is displayed in the American Galleries in the West Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Portraits by artists including Gilbert Stuart, Cecilia Beaux, Whistler, George Bellows, Winslow Homer, and John Singer Sargent are among the group. Stuart’s rendering of Catherine Brass Yates...
Portrait Artist Amy Sherald Discussed Her Practice at the National Gallery of Art: ‘I Paint American People. Black People Doing Stuff’
WASHINGTON, D.C. — There is an element of fantasy in Amy Sherald’s portraits. The Baltimore-based artist usually paints people she spots around the city—men, women, and youth who have a certain something that captures her attention and piques her curiosity. She’s depicted a woman with a baby on her hip, a young man who’s...
Major African American Contemporary Artists are Bringing Their Work to Washington, D.C.
A post shared by Hirshhorn (@hirshhorn) on Oct 14, 2017 at 11:16am PDT Theaster Gates presented “Plantation Lullabies,” a discussion and performance, at the Hirshhorn Museum Oct. 13. THE HIRSHHORN MUSEUM was infused with sacred, soulful music on Friday evening. The museum hosted the second installment of Theaster Gates‘s four-part series Processions. The collaborative...
Washington Renaissance: 8 Distinguished Artists Reflect and Connect in Wide-Ranging Discussion of African American Art in 20th Century Washington
Artists Sam Gilliam and David C. Driskell. | © 2017 Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington WASHINGTON, D.C. — The first time Lilian Thomas Burwell met Sam Gilliam, he told her if she wanted to be taken seriously as an artist she should get her own studio space. “He didn’t know me...
Scurlock Photography Studio: Father and Sons Documented Black Washington for Much of 20th Century
ADDISON SCURLOCK, Howard University Students,” circa 1920-30 (printed 1970). | Scurlock Studio Records, circa 1905-1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History FOR THE GREATER PART of the 20th century, America’s black metropolises were documented by visionary black photographers who forged successful businesses and important roles as local community historians. They offered portraits of...
