6 Groundbreaking Black Artists From The Past 100 Years You Should Know About
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Art has shaped and molded today's society. Throughout the last century, there have been countless artists that have made lasting impacts in the art world. However, Black artists are often overlooked, despite the major contributions they've made over the years. From painters to sculptors to cinematography, Black people have been creating masterpieces that are not always given the recognition they deserve. Black creators not only produce amazing work, but also work tirelessly to advocate for equality and to highlight the Black community.
Here's six Black artists who you definitely should know about:
1.Augusta Savage (1892–1962), a sculptor and mentor, who was one of the few Black artists who was commissioned to create art for the New York World’s Fair.
Bio: Born in Florida in 1892, Augusta Savage was a prominent sculptor and civil rights activist. Despite her father’s disapproval of her art, Savage was creating small sculptures at a young age. Her father would attempt to punish her for her art, but a West Palm Beach high school principal recognized her talent, allowing her to teach and create sculptures in the school. In 1919, she won an award for one of her sculptures and started doing commissions. This allowed her to move to New York City in 1921, during the Harlem Renaissance, in which she became monumental in the movement. Many Black people around New York began raising money to help Savage study abroad, and finally, in 1929, she was able to attend the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. She won awards for her work there and was commissioned to create a piece for the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Inspired by the song, she created "Lift Every Voice and Sing," also known as "The Harp," which was the most popular attraction at the fair.
Why you should know her: Savage's art was revolutionary. She was accepted into the School of American Sculpture, above 142 men who were already on the waiting list. She got accepted into the Fountainbleu School of Fine Arts in France, and the offer was rescinded only because she was Black. The French government even attempted to intercede on her behalf, but the school would not change their decision. This became the catalyst for her to start her fight for equal rights. When it became known that she was denied not because of her skills but because of her race, prominent artists began to reach out, including Hermon Atkins MacNeil. MacNeil, who was white, recognized her talent, and despite some pushback, welcomed her to work in his studio.
Savage created sculptures for many prominent civil rights leaders, including W.E.B. Du Bois, which sat in the Harlem Library. She spoke out against the fetishization of “negro primitive” that some of her white patrons wanted, instead choosing to sculpt African Americans in a positive light. She was the first Black artist to be elected to join the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors. When she finally opened her own studio in Harlem, she allowed anyone who wanted to create into her doors. She taught many famous artists, including Norman Lewis. While most of her work has not been able to stand the test of time, because she couldn’t afford to always bronze her work, there are a few that can still be viewed in person. One is the bust of the "Gamin," which is housed at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., as well as the Cleveland Museum of Art. Her work was praised for her willingness to show Black people as they were — beautiful and strong.
2.Kehinde Wiley (1977–), a painter, who is the first Black person to ever be commissioned to paint an official president portrait.
Bio: Born in Los Angeles in 1977, Kehinde Wiley is a Nigerian American portrait artist. He grew up with his five siblings and parents. Wiley's love of art started young, with encouragement from his mother, who enrolled him in art courses. Teachers recognized his talent and recommended him for a summer art program in Russia. At only the age of 12, along with his twin brother, he spent his summer with 48 other American children in St. Petersburg, where he learned to paint murals at a conservatory of art. He told the New Yorker, that while his brother was better at it than him, this created friendly competition between the two. Wiley attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, before receiving a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute. In 2001, he graduated Yale University with a Masters of Fine Art.
Why you should know him: Wiley is a portrait artist, who paints realistic murals of Black people. His style is a mix of influences including African textile, western art, and hip-hop. His art portrays Black people with power and elegance. This has allowed him to reimagine some iconic art in his own style, including his famous "Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps," a mural based on Jacques-Louis David’s "Napoleon Crossing the Alps." In 2017, President Obama commissioned Wiley to paint his official presidential portrait. That was the first time a Black artist has ever been asked to paint an official presidential portrait, which now stands in the National Portrait Gallery.
Wiley is changing the racial imbalance in art and the media. He shows the humanity of his subjects, who are sometimes villainized or seen as scary in art and media. He uses his art to not only communicate power but also his aspirations for society. This allows him to share the stories of the Black community, despite being in a world that is uncomfortable with discussions of race.
3.Selma Burke (1900–1995), a sculptor, who was one of the first women to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Women's Caucus for Art.
Bio: Born in North Carolina in 1900, Selma Burke was an award-winning sculptor. The daughter of a reverend, Burke and her nine siblings lived in a small house with their parents. It was sculpting the red clay she found near that home that made her fall in love with art. Burke’s grandmother, a painter, encouraged her to pursue her interest in sculpting. However, her mom demanded that Burke pursue a practical career, so in 1924, she became a registered nurse.
A few years later she moved to NYC to work as a private nurse for an heiress, who introduced Burke to artists and writers as a part of the Harlem Renaissance. When her boss passed, Burke quit nursing, choosing instead to go to Sarah Lawrence College to study art. She traveled to Europe to study with Henri Matisse and Aristide Maillol. However, with World War II looming, she returned to New York to study under Augusta Savage (yes, the same Augusta Savage from #1). She then received her Masters of Fine Arts from Columbia University. In 1949, she married and moved to Pennsylvania, where she opened the Selma Burke Art Center.
Why you should know her: Selma Burke is one of the few African American women sculptors to receive national attention for her art. She was seen as the “people’s sculptor” during the Harlem Renaissance. She created sculptures of prominent leaders and Black Americans, including Duke Ellington. It was her portrait of Franklin Roosevelt that became the basis for his image on the US dime. She felt that there were not adequate photos of Roosevelt, and he agreed to sit down for her to draw. She also created a giant statue of Martin Luther King Jr., which stands in a park in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Burke also was one of the first African American women to enlist in the Navy for World War II, where she was allowed to drive a Navy convoy truck at the Brooklyn camp. She has honorary doctorates from several colleges, including Spelman College and Livingstone College. In 1979, Jimmy Carter granted her the Women’s Caucus for Art lifetime achievement award. Many of her sculptures are still on display around the United States.
4.Gordon Parks (1912–2006), a photographer, who was the first Black staff photographer at Life Magazine.
Bio: Born in Kansas in 1912, Gordon Parks was a photographer and humanitarian. The youngest of 15 children, Parks had a hard life. He desired to go to college but was discouraged by his teacher. However, he never graduated from high school, because he was living on the streets, working odd jobs when he was just 15 years old. One of those jobs was playing piano at a brothel. He also wrote his own compositions during his free time. One day while working at a hotel, the leader of a jazz band heard one of his songs and invited him to join the band.
While Parks always had an interest in photography, it wasn’t until he saw a photo of migrant farm workers illustrating the effect of the Great Depression, that he started dabbling in the field. He stated, “I saw that the camera could be a weapon against poverty, against racism, against all sorts of social wrongs. I knew at that point I had to have a camera.” Buying a used camera, he taught himself how to use it over a few years. After impressing Marva Louis, the wife of boxer Joe Louis, Parks moved to Chicago, where she helped him find jobs taking photos for people of high society. Thus, officially beginning his long and prolific career as a photographer.
Why you should know him: Gordon Parks is the epitome of overcoming adversity. Despite having a tough childhood, he was accomplished amazing things. He was the first Black photographer for the Office of War Information, taking photos of the first Black fighter pilot squadron. He spent his free time taking photos of people in poverty to highlight their conditions. He was the first Black photographer to create work and later be hired by Life magazine. He worked for magazines like Essence and Vogue, not to mention working for Life magazine for 20 years.
During his career, Parks photographed a huge range of topics from fashion to systematic racism. Parks' photography wasn’t appreciated by everyone. After his photo series about the cruelty of segregation in the South, his life was threatened. He also dealt with threats of lynching when he covered the Civil Rights Movement. But he persevered. He also directed several films and documentaries. After the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., he composed and directed a ballet in honor of the civil rights leader. Today, his works are part of permanent collections in a number of museums across the United States.
5.Lois Mailou Jones (1905–1998), a watercolorist, who was one of the first Black artists to receive fame on an international level.
Bio: Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1905, Loïs Mailou Jones was a renowned painter and watercolorist. Her father, Thomas Vreeland Jones, was the first African American to graduate from Suffolk Law School and bought a summer home on Martha’s Vineyard to help encourage Jones’ love of art. It was there that she met poet and artist Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, along with other prominent Black creatives. Jones was very dedicated to her art. She went to an art high school and at night took classes at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Her hard work paid off that by the age of 17, she had her own show. She got her masters degree in design from the Design Art School of Boston and was attending Howard University before deciding to switch her focus to painting over design. She would, however, get a degree in art education from the university later in life. After experiencing racism in New York, she became a strong advocate for equality and civil rights.
Jones produced so many seminal works that influenced many artists that came after her. She was able to combine styles like post-cubism and African masks to produce works like "Les Fétiches." President Dwight D. Eisenhower commissioned her to paint a portrait of the Haitian President and First Lady. She received honorary doctorate degrees in Fine Arts, Humane Arts, and Philosophy from several universities, as well as was honored by Jimmy Carter. She is so decorated in awards and medals that in 1984 there was even a day declared to honor her.
Why you should know her: Loïs Mailou Jones was a champion of Black arts and artists. She worked close to support the “New Negro Movement” and was influenced by a ton of the artists that were associated with the movement. Jones’ career as an artist spanned over the better part of 70 years, in which she created countless masterpieces. From landscapes to portrait art, she was often able to blend a number of influences, including African designs and abstractionist patterns. She trained in the US, France, Italy, and Africa, taking influences and skills from each place, which is apparent in most of her art. She had 19 solo exhibitions and received so many honors, something that was rare for many Black Americans at the time. Her life was dedicated to educating future artists, and when she passed away in 1998, Howard University developed a scholarship fund for the Department of Fine Arts in her name.
6.Jacob Lawrence (1917–2000), a painter, who was the first Black artist to have his work in a major New York gallery.
Bio: Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1917, Jacob Lawrence was a painter known for his documentation of the African American experience. After his parents divorced when he was six, his mother, unable to care for them, put him and his siblings in foster care. When he was 13 years old, he gathered his siblings and moved them to New York City, reconnecting with his mother. She enrolled him in art classes, but he dropped out a few years later because he needed to work to help support the family. Eventually, he began to attend art classes led by Augusta Savage (yes, from above — she helped so many artists), who got him a scholarship to the American Artists School and a job at the Works Progress Administration. Although his mother wanted him to pursue a practical career, Savage’s interference and help allowed him to pursue art. He eventually studied at the Harlem Art Workshop.
With the help of the Harlem Renaissance, Lawrence was afforded opportunities that he may not have had if not for the cultural push of music and arts in the Black community. Jacob Lawrence focused on portraying the lives of African Americans and the struggles they faced. He created dynamic scenes filled with bright colors and powerful shapes. While he called his own style “dynamic cubism,” he wasn’t influenced by the French style but by his home of Harlem. One of his biggest series was about the migration of Blacks to the north from the south. It was while working on that series that he married Gwendolyn Knight, another painter.
Why you should know him: Jacob Lawrence is the first artist of color to be in a major New York gallery for his work, "The Migration of the Negro." He was considered the “foremost Black artist” by Time Magazine. He was an artist that focused on the human condition. Over the span of his career, his art highlighted discrimination and racism in the US. He was an artist that grew up and was influenced by the Black community. He used his art to highlight how the Great Depression hit the Black communities. His art showed modern life and historical events. He painted a series about civil rights leaders including Harriet Tubman. He was awarded the Washington Medal of Merit. Although he didn’t go to college, he received 18 honorary degrees from colleges throughout the US. He was able to teach at the University of Washington. One of his paintings, "The Builders," hangs in the Green Room of the White House. There are several scholarships in Lawrence and Knight’s names that help fund young artists in their pursuit for education. Most of his works are in permanent collections around the world.
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