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Five Centuries Ago Irene V. Clark was a diasporic folklore artist from Washington, D.C. Five Centuries Ago depicts Black warriors preparing for battle. In the lead is a man on a horse holding a weapon with animal by his side. He faces the warriors that follow him as they march under a dark blue sky.
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Ribbon Man: Mexico City Market Margaret Taylor Goss Burroughs was an artist, historian, teacher and writer from St. Rose, LA. Ribbon Man: Mexico City Market is a watercolor scene of a mother buying ribbons for her children. The ribbon seller joyously sells his colorful ribbons in the middle of a market in Mexico City, MX.
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Cathedral and Choir Richard Dempsey was a painter known for his abstractions and portraits of prominent African American leaders from Washington, D.C. Cathedral and Choir is an impressionist depiction of the inside of a church. The yellow brushstrokes create a tall organ alongside stained glass; the layered reds, blues, and black show the congregation and choir.
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Brown Girl Samuel Albert Countee was a New Negro movement painter and sculptor from Marshall, TX. Brown Girl depicts a nude Black woman in nature. She has a thoughtful expression as she touches the branches that obscure her groin. In the background is a garden scene of pink flowers and lush trees.
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Venezia Walter Augustus Simon was an art historian, professor, and artist best known for his abstract oil paintings from Petersburg, VA. Venezia is a cubist landscape abstraction depicting San Marco, Venice, ITL. Simon uses a variety of shapes and colors to illustrate Venice’s main public square.
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Of Hope Geraldine McCullough was a renowned painter and sculptor from Kingston, AR. Of Hope depicts three figures picking flowers along a picket fence. In the foreground are two women and a man; one of the women, bent over in a red dress, holds a yellow flower. In the background is an urban skyline.
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Pacific Movement Robert Willis, born in Georgia, was an artist who studied art at Morehouse College. Pacific Movements is a watercolor painting of a landscape during a storm. The piece shows pitched tents surrounded by trees blowing in the wind under a dark clouded sky and rolling ocean waves.
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The Yellow Bird Hale Aspacio Woodruff was an artist and art educator known for his murals, paintings, and prints from Cairo, IL. The Yellow Bird is a cubist depiction of a yellow bird pitched on a kneeling Black girl’s hand. The girl wears a blue dress with multicolored ribbons hanging from her hair.
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April Blizzard Walter Washington Smith, born in Clearfield, PA in 1887, was an artist who often painted religious scenes and created city signs and posters. April Blizzard is a painting of a neighborhood in a blizzard. The sidewalk, open street, and a house behind four barren trees is covered in blowing snow.
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East Texas Oil Field Leroy C. Weaver was an artist and art educator from Prarie View, TX. East Texas Oil Field is a print depiction of an oil field in East Texas. The print features several oil rigs and workers' living quarters. In the background is a landscape of forest and trees. The drawing shows the prescription of an oil field from a pilot's view.
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Two Alone Charles White was painter, printmaker, muralist educator and known for his stylistic approach to African American subjects from Chicago, IL. Two Alone is a painting of a man embracing a woman as they stand in front of a window. The woman stands arms crossed leaning into the man who looks into the distance and above her head
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Concerto Frederick D. Jones, Jr. is a mid-twentieth century African American artist from South Carolina. Concerto is a surrealist depiction of an orchestra’s performance under a cloudy, moonlit sky. In the foreground is a violinist beside ballet shoes and a red ball. Directly behind her is a flautist and dancer. There is also a mask, rope and yellow scarf.
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Garden Floyd Coleman was an art historian, educator, and painter in Washington, D.C. Garden is a abstracted depiction of its namesake. Coleman uses splotches of vibrant colors on top of a black background.
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Roxbury Landscape John Woodrow Wilson, a sculptor, painter and printmaker from Roxbury, MA, was known for his creative portraits and stylistic approach to social justice. Roxbury Landscape shows a gated park under a blue, white and yellow sky. There is a tall church behind other buildings and a courtyard with bare trees depicting Autumn in Wilson’s hometown.
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Roxbury Rooftops John Woodrow Wilson was a sculptor, painter, printmaker and educator from Roxbury, MA. Roxbury Rooftops depicts an urbanscape from the perspective of the rooftops. The buildings closest to the viewer are shown in hues of red, orange, and yellow. Buildings further away are more brown, green, and gray.
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The Kitemakers Cecil D Nelson Jr., was a 20th century painter born in Champaign, IL. The Kitemakers shows two children sitting in a field in front of a log. A white boy on the left wearing a red shirt holds the kite while looking at a young Black boy on the right wearing a blue shirt. An orange kite flies in the background near two gas tanks and a grain bin.
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String Dance Walter Augustus Simon was an art historian, professor, and artist, best known for his abstract oil paintings, from Petersburg, VA. String Dance shows two women dancing with a thin white string. Their arms are stretched above their heads to pull the string as they dance together barefooted.
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Grievin' Hearted Rose Piper, an African-American artist, used her knowledge of art and geometry to explore the American South. Grievin’ Hearted, a cubist painting, illustrates the sentiments of African Americans in the South. A male figure sadly hangs his head in his arm as he sits among the shadows. The girl in the yellow dress symbolizes hope for the future.
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Landscape Symphony Merton D. Simpson was an abstract expressionist painter and African art collector. Landscape Symphony is an abstracted landscape that depicts a white sun with hues of a dark blue-green sky. The connected polygons of vibrant red, green, orange are the main emphasis of the piece. They reach three bunches of short highlighted strokes in the landscape.
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Mr. and Mrs. Barton John N. Robinson, born in Washington D.C., was a self-taught painter. Mr. and Mrs. Barton is an oil painting of an elderly black couple inside of their home. The husband is standing wearing a suit while the wife is sitting wearing a sweater and gray dress. Behind them are two framed portraits, a vanity and the doorway to the kitchen.
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Solid as a Rock Charles White was painter, printmaker, muralist educator and known for his stylistic approach to African American subjects from Chicago, IL. Solid as a Rock is a print of the profile of a robed Black man. The barefoot man is holding on to his robe with his left and hides his right hand.
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The Mourners Frederick C. Flemister was an artist from Jackson, GA. The Mourners is an expressionist painting that portrays a group of Black people mourning a lynching victim. It emulates the scene of Jesus’ crucifixion, showing two veiled women holding the victim while three others mourn separately. There is a cut noose hanging from a tree in the background.
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Young Pines Growing David Driskell was a Black artist, scholar and curator known for his culmination of African abstract forms and modern aesthetics from Eatonton, GA. Young Pines Growing is an abstraction of a pine tree against a light blue background. The dispersed tree displays a texture similar to stained-glass using dimensional greens.
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To the Future Charles White was a Black draftsman, printmaker, and painter who illustrated the Southern Black struggle. To the Future shows a Black woman standing cross armed in front of hills and barren trees; the woman is scaled larger than the landscape behind her. It speaks to African Americans being larger than their past and a tradition of looking forward.
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Ghost Harbour City Jewell Woodard Simon was an internationally-acclaimed artist, teacher, and poet from Houston TX. Ghost Harbour City depicts an urbanscape and a dock with moored boats. Horizontal and vertical lines shape the city and water and create depth. Simon blends colors to detail the light, shadow, and shape of each building and the seascape.