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Curator's Corner

Emancipated Artist: Moses Williams

Monday, June 17, 2024 | Karl Cole

In honor of Juneteenth this week, I present an earlier experience of emancipation—that of artist Moses Williams. When he was 9 years old, Williams’s parents were emancipated. At the time, ...

Curator's Corner

March into March: Allan Rohan Crite

Monday, March 4, 2024 | Karl Cole

As we march into March—and spring—let’s bid a temporary goodbye to Black History Month with a painting by Boston’s own Allan Rohan Crite. I was greatly privileged to meet ...

Curator's Corner

Black History Month: Gee's Bend Quilter

Monday, February 26, 2024 | Karl Cole

African American artists have had a tremendous influence on the miscellaneous arts in America since before the Civil War (1861–1865). The women of the Gee’s Bend community in Alabama have ...

Curator's Corner

Black History Month: Beauford Delaney

Tuesday, February 20, 2024 | Karl Cole

My Black History Month series continues this week with the artwork of Beauford Delaney. Delaney was one of the few African American artists of his Harlem Renaissance generation who primarily pursued a ...

Curator's Corner

Black History Month: Mequitta Ahuja

Monday, February 12, 2024 | Karl Cole

My celebration of African American artists who have brought beauty into the world continues. This week I present the compelling self-portraits of African American and South Asian American artist Mequi ...

Curator's Corner

Black History Month: Hale Woodruff

Monday, February 5, 2024 | Karl Cole

Let’s celebrate Black artists who have brought beauty into the world through their art. This week, I’m sharing the stunning watercolors of Hale Woodruff. Since I find watercolor to be a ve ...

Curator's Corner

Celebrating Juneteenth: Norman Lewis

Monday, June 19, 2023 | Karl Cole

In celebration of Juneteenth, or Freedom Day, let’s honor Harlem Renaissance (ca. 1920s–1930s) (and beyond) artist Norman Lewis, one of the earliest African American artists to embrace abs ...

Curator's Corner

Black History Month 2023: Betye Saar

Monday, February 27, 2023 | Karl Cole

Since the 1970s, Betye Saar has been an important artist in both the Feminist Art Movement and in the ever-surging vitality and legacy of African American art. She is one of the most important assembl ...

Curator's Corner

Black History Month 2023: Vincent D. Smith

Monday, February 6, 2023 | Karl Cole

The art of African Americans has long been part of the American experience, beginning as enslaved Africans brought art forms, styles, and techniques to the U.S. Those artistic roots have impacted ...

Curator's Corner

Celebrating Martin Luther King Day: Nellie Mae Rowe

Tuesday, January 17, 2023 | Karl Cole

In celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, I’m sharing the art of a truly individual, inspiring African American artist: Nellie Mae Rowe. Her independent and unique spirit is part ...

Curator's Corner

LGBTQ+ History Month: Richmond Barthé

Monday, October 17, 2022 | Karl Cole

I think it is important to always keep in mind that LGBTQ pride did not “begin” with the Stonewall Riots of 1969—a series of protests by members of the gay community in response to a ...

Curator's Corner

Hispanic Heritage Month 2022: Emilio Cruz

Monday, October 3, 2022 | Karl Cole

The works of Emilio Cruz form a counterpoint to the Abstract Expressionist style that dominated the art world when Cruz first went to New York. His work is important not only because it was figurative ...

Curator's Corner

A Visual Tribute to Labor Day Week 2022

Monday, September 5, 2022 | Karl Cole

Aside from the myth of Sunday as a “day of rest” in the West, it’s interesting to me that there is only one day a year that celebrates “labor” in the U.S. The movement to ...

Curator's Corner

Art for Juneteenth 2022: Sargent Johnson

Sunday, June 19, 2022 | Karl Cole

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States, originating in Galveston, Texas, in 1865. Let’s celebrate the achievements of African Ame ...

Curator's Corner

Women's History Month 2022: Toyin Ojih Odutola

Monday, March 14, 2022 | Karl Cole

Nigerian-born artist Toyin Ojih Odutola explores contemporary definitions of gender, culture, and society with a unique graphic/painting technique. ...

Curator's Corner

Black History Month 2022: John Biggers

Monday, February 28, 2022 | Karl Cole

While John Biggers is known for his murals, he is equally as renowned for his graphic works. His realist style is tempered by an abstract simplification reminiscent of African art. He drew his subject ...

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African American art

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Emancipated Artist: Moses Williams

March into March: Allan Rohan Crite

Black History Month: Gee's Bend Quilter

Black History Month: Beauford Delaney

Black History Month: Mequitta Ahuja

Black History Month: Hale Woodruff

Celebrating Juneteenth: Norman Lewis

Black History Month 2023: Betye Saar

Black History Month 2023: Vincent D. Smith

Celebrating Martin Luther King Day: Nellie Mae Rowe

LGBTQ+ History Month: Richmond Barthé

Hispanic Heritage Month 2022: Emilio Cruz

A Visual Tribute to Labor Day Week 2022

Art for Juneteenth 2022: Sargent Johnson

Women's History Month 2022: Toyin Ojih Odutola

Black History Month 2022: John Biggers

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