William Edouard Scott was an African-American artist. Even before Alain Locke asked African Americans to create and portray the New Negro that would thrust them into the future, artists like William Edouard Scott were depicting blacks in new ways to break away from the subjugating images of the past. William Edouard Scott, well known for his portraits, Haitian scenes, and murals, challenged the standard depiction of blacks in art in the first half of the 20th century by utilizing black subject matter in an uplifting way. However, just as his style remained traditional as opposed to abstract, he was relatively conservative in his portrayals of blackness.