The Black Modernist Canon in the Atlanta University Annuals
Title
The Black Modernist Canon in the Atlanta University Annuals
Date Modified
2025-10-10
Description
The Atlanta University Annuals, originally known as the Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings by Negro Artists in America, was an annual juried art competition designed for Black diasporic artists, held at Atlanta University from 1942 to 1970. The winning pieces from the Annuals competition were accessioned into the art collection of Atlanta University and comprise the foundation of the CAU Art Museum's permanent collection. Black artists who were creating and being collected between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries are identified as Black Modernists. The art produced during the Modernist period often reflected on the historical and contemporary status of Black people in the United States, while also incorporating Black perspectives from various people around the world. Select artists from the Black Modernist canon in the Atlanta University Annuals introduce the Black Modernist era through award-winning pieces that showcase the diverse themes, styles, and forms with which 20th-century Black artists engaged. The Black Modernism Canon in the CAUAM Permanent Collection provides a list of Black Modernist artists who competed in the Annuals, or whose works have been donated to the CAUAM permanent collection.
Curated By
Shyheim Williams
Contributing Institution
Clark Atlanta University
About This Record
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William H. Johnson was a painter from Florence, SC. Red Cross Knitting Center depicts seven Black women in lab coats and aprons. The women are knitting in support of the Red Cross' relief efforts. The Red Cross began knitting campaigns in 1917 during World War I.
John Woodrow Wilson, a sculptor, painter, and printmaker from Roxbury, MA, was known for his creative portraits. Portrait of Claire is a portrait of a young Black woman. Her black hair is styled upwards, and a pink ornament is pinned. She wears a yellow collared blouse, a blue vest, and blue bottoms.
Jacob Lawrence was a renowned painter from Atlantic City, NJ. Playland shows a room with people standing around a table with a crowd. The majority wear black trench coats and fedoras. Three people wear yellow dresses, and two wear striped clothing and headwear. Gambling occurs in front of a decorated wall with various suits of playing cards.
Lois Mailou Jones was an artist and art educator known for her costumes, textile designs, watercolors, paintings, and collages. Old House Near Frederick, Virginia depicts a slightly dilapidated house near Frederick, VA, a county about 50 miles from Washington, D.C., in watercolor. There are two children on the porch and two children and a chicken.
John Woodrow Wilson was a sculptor, painter, printmaker, and educator from Roxbury, MA. Negro Woman depicts a Black woman looking toward the distance from the side of her eyes. She is standing outside in a peach-colored shirt with the sun reflecting off of her face. Behind her are large buildings and a dark blue sky.
Elizabeth Catlett was an artist and educator from Washington, D.C., who was repatriated to Mexico. Negro Woman is a print depicting a dark-skinned woman looking off into the distance. The piece is in Black and white, aside from her brown face. The woman is wearing a jacket pinned at the collar, an undershirt, and a straw hat.
Elizabeth Catlett was an artist and educator from Washington, D.C., who repatriated to Mexico. Negro Woman is a wooden sculpture of a Black woman. Catlett crafts the woman with an intense stare through careful sculpting and inlaid onyx eyes.
Robert Blackburn was a notable printmaker from Summit, NJ who grew up in Harlem, NY. Negro Mother depicts a Black woman with a sorrowful expression. Balckburn uses geometric shapes to emphasize her features adn the details of the background.
John T. Biggers was an educator, painter, and muralist from Gastonia, NC. Mother and Children depicts a woman sitting with her legs crossed and a baby in her lap. The baby’s face is hidden as they are turned downward in the woman’s lap. The woman hunches over the baby, folding her arms while looking down.
Marion Perkins was a sculptor from Marche, AK. Mother and Child is a limestone bust of its namesake. The mother is placed behind the child as she holds his head. The mother looks toward the viewer as the child looks away.
John Woodrow Wilson was a famous painter known for his creative portraits and stylistic approach to social justice. Mother and Child is a black-and-white depiction of a mother embracing their child. The mother has a solemn expression as she looks away from the viewer; her child is tucked into her arms, facing the viewer.
Herman "Kofi" Bailey was an artist from Chicago, IL. Mother and Child is a sepia-toned depiction of a Black mother holding her child in her lap. The mother looks down at the child as a blanket covers them.
John Woodrow Wilson was a famous painter known for his creative portraits and stylistic approach to social justice. Mother and Child is a black-and-white depiction of a mother embracing their child. The mother has a solemn expression as she looks away from the viewer; her child is tucked into her arms, facing the viewer.
Frederick C. Flemister was an artist from Jackson, GA. Man with Brush is a mannerist self-portrait depicting him in front of an arched window at an empty canvas. Outside of the window is a landscape scene featuring a lake, rolling hillsides, and mountains in the distance.
John Woodrow Wilson was a sculptor, painter, printmaker, and educator from Roxbury, MA. La Calle, or The Street, is a print depiction of people traveling a gold cobblestoned street. There are male workers carrying wood and rock slabs, women and their children walking, a woman watching the street, and a man facing the viewer.
John T. Biggers was an educator, painter, and muralist from Gastonia, NC. Kneeling Figure is a sculpture of a nude man kneeling on his knees. His back is hunched over as he leans to the left with his hands resting on his left knee.
Charles White was a painter, printmaker, muralist, and educator known for his stylistic approach to African American subjects from Chicago, IL. John Brown is a print portrait of its namesake. He was a prominent member of the American abolitionist movement. The print portrays Brown in dark hues as he stares off into the distance.
Hayward Oubre was a multimedia artist and educator from New Orleans, LA. In a Pensive Mood is a sculpture of a woman sitting in a worried position. Her hands cover her mouth and right eye as she sits with her left leg tucked under her right.
Lois Mailou Jones was an artist and art educator known for her costumes, textile designs, watercolors, paintings, and collages from Washington, D.C. Impasse De L'Oratoire Grasse depicts a dead-end market street in Grasse, France. There are several people in the piece: two smoking cigarettes, two in their windows, two shopping, and one person exiting their home.
William Artis was a sculptor from Washington, NC. Head of a Young Lady is a limestone bust of a woman. The subject has pursed lips and a broad neck, maintaining a critical expression toward the viewer.
Samella Sanders Lewis, born in New Orleans in 1923, was a printmaker, painter, sculptor, and art historian. Head is a print portrait of a male face just below the chin to slightly above the front hairline. The contrast in deep shadows and light creates a composition of distinctive cheekbones, a broad nose, and baggy eyes.
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 man sadly hangs his head on his arm as he sits in the shadows. The girl in the yellow dress symbolizes hope for the future.
Margaret Taylor Goss Burroughs was an artist, historian, teacher, and writer from St. Rose, LA. Friends is a print depicting an interracial friendship. Two girls, one black and the other white, are sitting on a loveseat in front of a patterned curtain. This radical image of race relations was created during the height of the Jim Crow era.
Hayward Oubre was a multimedia artist and educator from New Orleans, LA.. Flight Into Space is an abstracted perspective of a flight into space. Oubre uses shades of blue and black to display the complexities of space.
John W. Rhoden was a renowned sculptor from Birmingham, AL. Female Figure is a wooden sculpture of a nude woman. The woman's demeanor is peaceful, and she stands slack-armed with a relieved expression.
John Woodrow Wilson was a famous painter known for his creative portraits and stylistic approach to social justice. Father and Child is a black-and-white print of a seemingly nude father holding his equally nude son. The piece embodies the intimacy between parent and child.
Charles Henry Alston was a Harlem Renaissance painter, sculptor, illustrator, muralist, and teacher. Farm Boy is a portrait of a young Black boy holding a hat and tool on a farm. Alston photographed Black Southern life in North Carolina when he visited rural and farm sites with a Farm Security Administration inspector.
Hayward Oubre was a multimedia artist and educator from New Orleans, LA. Equivocal Fox is an abstract depiction of a fox using polygonal shapes. The red and blue forms overlap throughout the painting. The entire artwork is painted with a bumpy texture, which creates a slight relief sculpture effect.
Lois Mailou Jones was an artist and art educator known for her costumes, textile designs, watercolors, paintings, and collages from Washington, D.C. Egyptian Heritage presents a genealogical and cultural heritage between contemporary Blacks and Ancient Egypt. Jones uses Ancient Egyptian scenes and hieroglyphics in the background.
