Dress for the Occasion
The Unexplored Field of Negro Art
Art, a previously unexplored genre of negro self-expression, blossomed in the Harlem Renaissance thanks to the Emancipation Proclamation that set the slaves and, therefore, their previously unexpressed artistic ability. It was a time that fresh negro talent could fully embrace the arts and build upon their history and the history of their people. The art forms at this time were styled after three major topics of Harlem's interest: the racial tension between Blacks and Whites, which included their struggle for civil rights, African heritage, and jazz. The appeal and challenge of the Harlem Renaissance's art movement was its opposition from both the white and black communities.
Palmer C. Hayden; 1890-1973 Palmer C. Hayden, born in 1890 in Virginia, became one of the most controversial painters of the Harlem Renaissance: his negro brethren felt that he portrayed the negro in a demeaning and stereotypical light. Yet his paintings were not simple nor demeaning, but bursting with color and spirit. His early works dove deep to clutch African culture and heritage while his more mature pieces portrayed the racial simplicity that so angered his critics. Palmer's art reflected his experiences and passions as a black artist; a black artist who made his living as a janitor. He showed the struggle of the Negroes without pity yet styled it full of life and pain. He passed away in 1973. Archibald J. Motley; 1891-1991 Archibald Motley was born in 1891 in New Orleans and lived out most of his life in Chicago. Though he did not live in Harlem, he was very much in tune to the spirit of the Renaissance. He painted the glory of black urban life as opposed to the social or moral issues between blacks and whites which was common in the day. After graduating the Art Institute of Chicago, he married his high school sweetheart, an interracial marriage because she was white, and moved on to paint as a profession. Being forced to face the racism of the world, Motley chose to paint the modern life of the Negro to tear down black stereotypes. He became famous in diverse audiences and taught many pupils. In his later years he continued on with the same style of urban depictions and took to paint contracted mural paintings. He passed away in 1981. Augusta Savage; 1892-1962 Augusta Savage, born in Florida in 1892, was a sculptor against all odds. Her femininity and her dark skin held her in one of the lowest places in society which she was determined to overcome. Rising to fame with her busts that portrayed the struggle of identity and strength, she was noted for giving her sculptures a humanity and a life that tugged the heart. Her characterizations took her far as her art matured and evolved to expand into many different mediums, all of which, she was a master. Later, as her popularity faded and the Harlem Renaissance came to and end, Savage opened up an art studio that was open to anyone interested in art and taught into her old age. Her studio inspired big names such as W.E.B DuBios and Claude McKay. Her legacy has lived on after her death in 1962. Aaron Douglas; 1899-1972 Born in Topeka, Kansas in 1899, Douglas's artistic career was launched when he arrived in Harlem in 1925 and immediately recruited by W.E.B DuBois to illustrate the Crisis for the NAACP which revolved around the goings on of the celebrated Harlem life. He felt that he could reach his audiences with art in a deeper way, in a language that he could paste onto the page. His illustrations drew heavily from African mural style which tied his audience together with a single heritage. His illustrations were always simple, but yet unique and powerful. Douglas's most captivating work was done for various book covers and magazine issues. Later in his career his powerful murals picturing the progress of slavery and it's eventual abolition stood as his final pillar of strength to leave the poor and jobless. He passed away in 1979. |
"They furnish a wealth of colorful, distinctive material for any artist because they still hold their own individuality in the face of American standardizations. And perhaps these common people will give to the world its truly great Negro artist, the one who is not afraid to be himself...And they accept what beauty is their own without question." Langston Hughes