Black Artists in America

Black Artists in America is the second book in a three-volume series on Black American artists. This volume features work from the 1950s to the 1970s, responding to the cultural, political, and social concerns of the era.

During these turbulent decades, Black American artists, responding to increasing civil rights activism, challenged inequities in the art world. The artists created works that celebrated their racial identity, connected with Black audiences, and participated in the struggle for political, economic, and social equality. The establishment of artist collectives, such as Spiral, and museums devoted to Black art, like the Studio Museum in Harlem, alongside the emergence of art historians and critics such as David Driskell and Linda Goode Bryant, marked early steps to bring Black art into broader artistic discourse.

The book features 140 colour illustrations of paintings, sculptures, and works on paper by celebrated artists such as Romare Bearden, Sam Gilliam, Jacob Lawrence, Norman Lewis, Howardena Pindell, and Alma Thomas, as well as by under-recognised artists. Essays provide an overview of the period and in-depth examinations of James A. Porter, an artist and art historian credited with establishing the field of African American art history, and Merton D. Simpson, an abstract painter, member of the Spiral group, and one of the most important dealers of African art in the United States.

Published in association with the Dixon Gallery and Gardens.

Exhibition Schedule:

Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis
(October 22, 2023–January 14, 2024)

Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento
(February 4–May 19, 2024)