Charles White: Five Great American NegroesCharles White’s first mural “Five Great A
Charles White: Five Great American NegroesCharles White’s first mural “Five Great American Negroes”—painted when he was just 21 years old—comes to New York thanks to a historic loan from Howard University. Created in Chicago as part of a fundraiser for the South Side Community Art Center, the “great Americans” depicted were chosen by readers of the Chicago Defender, a major black newspaper. Can you name all five?Like many American artists, White was influenced by Mexican muralists like Diego Rivera and adapted their strategies for educating and inspiring viewers. White would produce three more murals between 1939 and 1943. Their public placement perfectly suited his lifelong goal of promoting African American history to combat what he called “a plague of distortions” in popular visual culture.…[“Photograph of Charles White working on ‘Five Great American Negroes’ (1939).” 1939. Gelatin silver print. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York; Charles White. “Five Great American Negroes.” 1939. Oil on canvas. From the Collection of the Howard University Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. © The Charles White Archives. Photo: Austin Donohue] -- source link
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