Celebrating U.S. Black artists, music makers, and pop culture icons
Enter a world of Black creativity
And witness never-before-seen images
Amistad's preservation of Black art and culture
Truth Be Told
This exhibition contains several unpublished images from Amistad's permanent collections. Join us for an insightful experience about the Center's preservation of art and culture.
Lena Horne
Louise Jefferson photographer. Based on other images from this period this photograph is estimated to have been taken between 1947-1957.
August 1976 Letter from Pauli Murray
Louise Jefferson's, friend invited her comments on his autobiography. In the 1930’s-1940's, Pauli a pioneering activist, was denied “gender-affirming care,” was arrested for refusing to sit at the back of a bus, and co-founded C.O.R.E. (Congress for Racial Equality).
Untitled (Bar Patrons by Oliver Harrington)
(1912-1995), recognized for his satirical cartoons, Harrington studied at National Academy of Design. A close friend, of Harlem Renaissance artist Romare Bearden. Harrington created “’Bootsie,’” the first cartoon series by a black artist to break onto the national stage.
( Untitled) Louise E. Jefferson
Robert Pious (1908-1983), critically acclaimed cartoonist and advertising artist's, work appeared in Golden age comic books such as Archie and was used by major publishers such as Random House. Pious' most notable works include Harriet Tubman at the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery.
Melanie Hines, Vice President of Trinity Coalition of Blacks
Hines invited Pauli Murray to help quell racial animus at Trinity College, a “conservative, liberal,” institution. Some community members blamed radical feminism for tensions at Trinity. But, Hines assured Pauli that he would have the “full support” of the administration.
David Driskell (1931-2020) and Derrick Beard (1958-2018)
Giants of History and Culture, both resting with the ancestors. Toward the end of his career,Art & Antiquesmagazine named Beard as one of America’s top100 collectors. Beard's private collection was valued at nearly 5 million dollars before his untimely death in 2018.
Richmond Barthé
Richmond Barthé Collection
c. 1947 Study for Jean Jacques Dessalines
This is one of several drawings in Richmond Barthé’s manuscript collection that are attributed to a 1948 commission by the Haitian government to complete a statue of Dessalines. The sketch does not fully translate the monumentality of the final image, a 40-foot bronze statue.
"Memories"
Written shortly before his death in 1989, this passage from" Richmond Barthé’s personal memoirs, describes his childhood "memories" of living in New Orleans. The experience, it seems, left a lasting impression on Barthé--one that the artist recalled in vivid detail.
(John) Giovanni Rosmini
Rosminiwas a contemporary of Bruce Nugent.Giovanni, an important work in RichmondBarthé'soeuvre, demonstratessubtle his command of color.One of his earliest works, Barthé completedGiovannibefore he was launched onto the national stage as a "sculptor."
1959 Postcard from Richmond Barthé to "Dot" Peterson (copy)
Nearly thirty-years later, after laude for most of his professional career as a sculptor, Barthé's workwould come full-circle , when Barthé wrote his friend Dorothy "Dot" Peterson to tell her that that he had his “first exhibition of paintings.Richmond Barthé Collection
Target Practice
Targetis a rare male sculptural image by Catlett. Unlike the serene attachment seen in her mother and child figures, the obstructive prism (cross-hairs) through which we "get out front of" to engage the trapped black man detaches. The "piece" is confrontational by design.
American Negro Art Exhibition Brochure
Louise E. Jefferson Collection
American Negro Art Exhibition Brochure
"Alice" Catlett, was known for almost her entire career as Elizabeth Catlett. Featured with "masters" such Henry O. Tanner and Romare Bearden, Catlett was one of only a few women in the show. She was not standing on the shoulders of giants, but walking in lock-step with them.
Meet pioneering artists
1. Kehinde Wiley
Famous, of course, for painting the presidential portrait of Barack Obama, Kehinde Wiley paints black sitters in a Heroic style.
Though meticulously detailed and naturalistic, Wiley's portraits make his sitters feel iconic.
In 2005, Wiley restaged Jacques Louis-David's Napoleon Crossing the Alps, replacing the French General with a modern African soldier. But it's not only Obamas and Napoleons who catch his eye.
This portrait depicts Savannah Essah, a young British mother whom Wiley met on the streets of Dalston, East London. Her quiet, everyday power speaks confidently through the swirling decorative surroundings.
From the White House to the East End, Kehinde Wiley celebrates black power and personality with the same tender emphasis.
2. Amy Sherald
Unveiled at the same time as Wiley's portrait of Barack, Amy Sherald's official portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama has arguably become even more iconic.
Sherald uses a technique called grisaille(varying tones of gray) alongside bold colors to give her sitters a striking appearance.
Look how colorful this young man's head dress is! It's not just decoration, though. It really helps his expression stand out and speak to the viewer.
3. Billy Mandindi
South African painter and activist, Billy Mandindi, famously took part in a landmark anti-Apartheid protest in Cape Town, the Purple Rain Protest of 1989. His painting is just as bold, with strong colors and symbols combining in this powerful self-portrait.
The artist paints himself with a defiant stare, locking eyes with the viewer.
4. Njideka Akunyili-Crosby
Nigerian-born, living and working in LA, Crosby makes art that explores life across two different cultures, finding difference and synthesis. Her collage-like paintings have a flat depth of field, making them feel intimate and immediate.
Her paintings use photo-transfers to incorporate pictures from newspapers and magazines, placing the sitter in a wider cultural context.
5. Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
Most of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye's figures are imagined. Her paintings are raw, with muted dark colors, unapologetically celebrating blackness.
She removes her portraits from any particular time or place, making them universal figures of black identity.
Names to know
Zoom into masterpieces
This work was created in 1982, a particularly important moment in the career of Jean-Michel Basquiat, after his discovery as an artist, and before his period of maximum productivity.
Most of the pictorial surface is taken up by a chaotic jumble of scrawls, words, numbers, symbols, and colors. Humor, irony, and primitivism define this forceful, representative painting. The resulting effect is that of a crowd of shouting, echoing, responding voices. The repetitions, variations, cross-outs, and spelling mistakes are reminiscent of graffiti.
The title of the painting comes from a phrase written over the head of a red pig which, although surrounded by countless inscriptions, splashes of color, cross-outs, and elementary signs, dominates the composition like a totemic image.
'Man from Naples' was inspired by his visit to Italy in 1982 and reflects the artist’s feelings of resentment toward his wealthy Italian patron, whom he scornfully refers to as a “pork merchant” and other unflattering epithets.
Man from Naples, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1982
Click on the dots to zoom in
Explore moreBehind the canvas
Art and identity
Using art to connect to the past...
...and the Afrofuture
Explore through the rainbow
Black Lenses Matter
Meet contemporary photographers, curated by Misan Harriman
From historical portraits...
...to contemporary narratives
The We Love You Project
Changing the way Black men are perceived
Meet trailblazing musicians
A rich musical history
Summer of soul
Music and resistance
Giants of jazz
Pioneering the airways
From the silver screen...
...to comic books
Daring designs
Spotlight on quilting
Dasha Kelly Hamilton on Gee's Bend Quilters
Wisconsin's poet laureate explores the creativity and resistance
Jessie T. Pettway’s versatility is represented by an elegant design of tapering strings in shades of red, yellow, blue, and gray, all framed by columns of bright red.
The composition, suggestive of waving grass, resembles the oscillating pattern in the quilt that fellow quilter Gertrude Miller gave to her.
"That's just a lot of strings sewed together," she insists. "I wasn't trying to keep nothing in order. I turned the narrow end next to the wide end and just sewed it together." This disclaimer is an indication of the distinction Gee's Bend women make between "pretty" and "ugly" quilts, or between those created for display or sale and those made for everyday use.
Bars and string-pieced columns, Jessie T. Pettway, 1950s
Click on the dots to zoom in
Explore moreMoved to movement
The Story of Black History and Culture Through Dance
Celebrate Black History Month through the rich history of movement
Dance is more than the pirouette of a ballet dancer and the fast-footed rhythm of tap. Each movement has a history, each angle wordlessly expresses an emotion, and a whole story can be embodied in a single step. In honor of Black History Month, Google Arts & Culture takes a look at top dance companies and individuals who use their talents to create a moving commentary on the black experience.
The stories being told by these dancers and choreographers uphold the fact that black dance doesn’t stand independently of black history, but rather wordlessly expresses the narrative of a people through movements, productions, and an individual’s career. Their work raises social issues with their choreography, strengthens community through their programming, and uses history as a source of inspiration.
The performances created by these dancers are connected to the most iconic places, people, and events in history; with them you can explore themes spanning activism, women’s rights, LGBT intersectionality, and iconic literature and art.
Discover how Arthur Mitchell, the first black principal dancer of New York City Ballet was inspired by the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to provide the children of Harlem with the opportunity to study dance and transform their lives by establishing the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
Watch clips of choreographer Reggie Wilson’s reinterpretation of writer Zora Neal Hurston’sMoses, Man of the Mountainor learn the story of how the Lindy Hop was born in Harlem.
The story of black danceisthe story of black history and culture.
