The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism: Celebrating African-American Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met)

African-American Paintings, Photos, Sculptures and Literary Works: New York”s Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) Celebrates the Art Movement Born of the Massive Migration of Millions of Black People from the South to the North and West of the United States in the first half of the 20th century.

Starting next February, one of the world’s most prestigious museums will showcase 160 works of modern art from historic black universities, art centers and foundations, the Met has announced for this “groundbreaking” exhibition titled “The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism”.

It is a comprehensive overview of the first international movement of modern art founded by African-American artists, in particular to represent “the modern daily life of new black neighborhoods like Harlem in New York and South Side in Chicago in the 1980s. 1920-1940,” according to the Met statement.

The interwar period in the United States marks the first decades of the great African-American migration (spanning from 1910 to 1970 according to historians) which saw some six million people leave southern states still racially segregated to northern, midwestern, and western metropolises believed to offer freedom, equality, and better living conditions.

“Through portraits, scenes of urban life and nightlife, by major artists of the time, this exhibition highlights the central role of the movement (‘Harlem Renaissance’) in shaping the modern black subject and even the early 20th century modern art,” Met CEO Max Hollein said in a statement.

Featured artists include Charles Alston, Miguel Covarrubias, Aaron Douglas, Meta Warrick Fuller, William H. Johnson, Archibald Motley, Jr., Winold Reiss, Augusta Savage, James Van Der Zee and Laura Wheeler Waring.

Part of the exhibition will compare paintings by African-American artists who spent time in Europe with portraits of African people by European artists such as Henri Matisse, Edvard Munch, Pablo Picasso, Germaine Casse, Kees Van Dongen, Jacob Epstein and Ronald Moody.

African-American paintings, photos, sculptures and literary works: the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) in New York celebrates the artistic movement born of the massive migration of millions of black people from the south to the north and west of the United States in the first half of the 20th century. Starting next February, one of the most prestigious museums in the world will present…

2023-08-24 12:04:53
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