African American Art in the 20th Century

This traveling exhibition presents 45 artworks by 34 African American artists from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s collection. The artists featured came to prominence during the period bracketed by the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights movement. The means of these artists varied–from representational to modern abstraction to stained color to the postmodern assemblage of found objects–and their subjects are diverse. These works were created at a significant social and political moments in America.

“African American Art in the 20th Century” is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The C.F. Foundation in Atlanta supports the museum’s traveling exhibition program, Treasures to Go. The William R. Kenan Jr. Endowment Fund provided financial support.

Image credits: Charles Searles, Celebration, 1975, acrylic on canvas. Smithsonian American Art Museum, transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program.