By Amistad Research Center
Undated images of Louis Armstrong from the Louise E. Jefferson Collection. Louise E. Jefferson Photographer.
Lena Horne (1960/1965) by Louise E. JeffersonAmistad Research Center
Lena Horne
Louise Jefferson photographer. Based on other images from this period this photograph is estimated to have been taken between 1947-1957.
Murray Letter Asking for Support With Developing His Autobiography, page 1 (1976) by Louise E. JeffersonAmistad Research Center
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 (1950/1960) by Louise E. JeffersonAmistad Research Center
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.
Louise Jefferson (1990/1997) by Louise E. JeffersonAmistad Research Center
( 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.
Murray Letter Regarding Invite to Speak at Trinity College pg. 1 (1981) by Louise E. JeffersonAmistad Research Center
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.
Derrick Joshua Beard and Dr. David Driskell (2017) by Derrick Joshua BeardAmistad Research Center
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 & 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.
Untitled (Alcatraz Lock Series) by Derrick Joshua Beard
Toward the end of his career Beard, created a new style of "Pop and Kitsch Art." His series, titled 'Fake, Fraud, and the Prison Industrial Complex' created in 2016, featured a large cell lock with the words Alcatraz San Francisco Death Row."
Richmond Barthé (1929/1935) by Richmond BarthéAmistad Research Center
Richmond Barthé
Richmond Barthé Collection
Sketch 5-for Haitian commission of Dessailines statue (1948/1949) by Richmond BartheAmistad Research Center
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" by Richmond Barthé (1987/1989) by Richmond BarthéAmistad Research Center
"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 (1929) by Richmond BarthéAmistad Research Center
(John) Giovanni Rosmini
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."
Postcard from Richmond Barthe to Dorothy "Dot" Peterson (1959) by Richmond BartheAmistad Research Center
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 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 Practice w Price List (1970) by Elizabeth CatlettAmistad Research Center
Target Practice
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.
Negro Art Exhibition Booklet Pg 1 (1942) by Louise E. JeffersonAmistad Research Center
American Negro Art Exhibition Brochure
Louise E. Jefferson Collection
Negro Art Exhibition Booklet Pg 2 (1942) by Louise E. JeffersonAmistad Research Center
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.
Amistad is one of only six recipients of the 2022 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, an award which signifies “the nation's highest honor given to museums and libraries that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities.”
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