The Harlem Renaissance ArtistsMontgomery High School, 2013

Introduction The Harlem Renaissance was an expression of

African-American social thought and culture that resulted from the Great Migration.

Writers, artists, and musicians began to produce highly original works dealing with African- American life.

Directions After viewing all the slides….

1. Choose ONE artist and his/her painting to analyze.

2. Write a paragraph analyzing how his/her painting reflected the Harlem Renaissance movement. Use details from the painting to help you explain what the artist was trying to represent.

3. Complete in notebook – label “Art Analysis”

Aaron Douglas (1898 - 1979) He was a Harlem

Renaissance artist who best exemplified the ‘New Negro’ philosophy.

He painted murals for public buildings and produced illustrations and cover designs for black publications.

In 1940, he moved to Tennessee and founded the Art Department at Fisk University.

(Spencer Museum of Art)

Douglas’ “Song of The Towers”

Douglas depicts three figures each portraying a facet of the black experience: escape of former slavery, economic hardships, and new opportunities art and music offer to blacks. (The New York Times)

William H. Johnson (1901-1970)

Johnson moved to New York at the age of seventeen and received art education at the National Academy of Design.

He used both Harlem, South Carolina, and folk style of paintings to show how tradition is linked to change in Harlem.

(Smithsonian American Art Museum, Harmon Foundation)

Johnson’s “Café” This affectionate couple

has the fashionable flash of zoot-suiters in the big band era.

The tangle of the legs and limbs hints at the erotic energy of the night.

(Smithsonian American Art Museum)

Johnson’s “Going to Church” Johnson indicates the

importance of church in the lives of the African-Americans.

He drew this in his personal belief that religion is rooted in church and community.

(Smithsonian American Art Museum)

Palmer Hayden (1890-1973) Peyton Cole Hedgeman was

given the name Palmer Hayden by his commanding sergeant during WWI.

Hayden, an African American painter as well as a used oils and water colors to depict American life.

Because he was influenced by African folklore economic hardships, he especially tried to capture both rural life in the South and the urban background of New York City.

(Smithsonian American Art Museum)

Hayden’s “Jeunesse”

J Hayden depicts the high energy of the dancers and also indicates the importance of jazz music.

The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experiences,

Oxford University Press

Hayden’s “The Janitor Who Paints”

Hayden experienced the economic hardships ofmany black artists.

This has often beeninterpreted as both a selfportrait and a statement onan adversity.

(Cartography Associates)

Archibald John Motley Jr. (1891-1981) He is known for his

colorful chronicling of the African- American experience during the 1920s- 30s.

Motley spent most of his life in Chicago and never lived in Harlem.

His family was the only black family in an all white European neighborhood.

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(The Encyclopedia of Chicago, Chicago Historical Society)

“Old Snuff Dipper”- 1928

Motley depicts a working class southern woman.

This illustrates the realistic style Motley employed during the early years of his career.

(African American Art and Artists, Samella S. Lewis)

“Black Belt”- 1929

This painting depicts the African American night life in Chicago, Bronzeville.

(African American Art and Artists, Samella S. Lewis)

Louis Mailou Jones (1905-1998) Teacher, book

illustrator, and textile designer, Jones received inspiration from African themes for her art pieces.

She was also married to a prominent Haitian artist, Louis Vergniaud Pierre-Noel.

(The New York Times)

Jones’ “The Green Apples”

Considered one of her favorite Paris paintings.

Although very simple, this artwork exhibits the “true feeling of Paris”.

(The New York Times)

Jones’ “Water Carrier”

Jones depicts Haitian children carrying water.

This also shows how Haiti influenced her drawings.

(The New York Times)

In a Nutshell…

Many Harlem Renaissance artists portrayed the great difficulties many African-Americans faced during their transition from the south to the north.

Bibliography University of Kansas. Spencer Museum of Art. “Aaron Douglas:

African American Modernist.” 2 December 2007. Online.http://www.aarondouglas.ku.edu/exhibition/about.shtml

Ken Johnson. “Black in America, Painted Euphoric and Heroic.” New York Times. 11 September 2008. Online. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/12/arts/design/12doug.html

Smithsonian American Art Museum. Harlem Foundation. “Café”. 2006. Online. http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=11583

The Encyclopedia of Chicago, Chicago Historical Society. “Archibald Motley Junior”. Jontyle Theresa Robinson. Chicago, Illinois. 2006. Print.

African American Art and Artists, Samella S. Lewis. 1998. Print. Whitney Museum of American Art. “Jacob Lawrence.” 5 April 2000.

Online. http://www.whitney.org/Collection/JacobLawrence Smithsonian American Art Museum. Sara Roby Foundation. “Jacob

Lawrence.” 8 May 2001. Online. http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=14376

Holland Cotter. “Louis Mailou Jones, 92, Painter and Teacher.” 13 June 1998. Online. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/13/arts/lois-mailou-jones-92-painter-and-teacher.html?pagewanted=1