Louise Jefferson photographer.  Based on other images from this period this photograph is estimated to have been taken between 1947-1957.

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).

(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.

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.

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.  

Giants of History and Culture, both resting with the ancestors. Toward the end of his career,   Art & Antiques magazine 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 Collection

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.

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.

Rosmini was a contemporary of Bruce Nugent.  Giovanni, an important work in Richmond  Barthé's  oeuvre, demonstrates subtle his command of color.   One of his earliest works,  Barthé completed Giovanni before he was launched onto the national stage as a "sculptor." 

Nearly thirty-years later,  after laude for most of his professional career as a sculptor, Barthé's work would 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 is 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.

Louise E. Jefferson Collection

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

Most of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye's figures are imagined. Her paintings are raw, with muted dark colors, unapologetically celebrating blackness.