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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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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. Behind other buildings, there is a tall church and a courtyard with bare trees, depicting Autumn in Wilson’s hometown.
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.
Hayward Oubre was a multimedia artist and educator from New Orleans, LA. Seated Woman is a sculpture of a bodacious woman with a solemn expression. Her right arm is crossed over her chest, and her left arm hangs between her legs.
Frederick C. Flemister, native to Jackson, GA, was a student of Hale A. Woodruff at Atlanta University in the 1940s. Self-Portrait is an impressionistic piece depicting Flemister preparing to paint. He is standing in front of a canvas while holding a paintbrush in his left hand and a palette in his right.
Hayward Oubre was a multimedia artist and educator from New Orleans, LA. Self Portrait is an etching of the artist from the shoulders up. His neck, shoulders, ears, and mouth are etched lightly, while his hair, eyebrows, eyes, and mustache are dark and etched deeply.
Hayward Oubre was a multimedia artist and educator from New Orleans, LA. His etching Silent Sentinel, created during his MFA at the University of Iowa, reflects his interrogation of social realism and cultural symbology.
Charles White was a painter, printmaker, muralist, and educator 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.
David Driskell was a Black artist, scholar, and curator known for his fusion of African abstract forms and modern aesthetics. Still Life is an abstract print of inanimate kitchen objects. It features a bowl of fruit, plates of food, vases of flowers, and other objects atop a table.
Richmond Barthe was a sculptor from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The Angry Christ is an intensely expressive bust of Christ. The bust is incredibly detailed, emphasizing Jesus of Nazareth's Semitic features.
Howard E. Lewis was an Art professor and Korean War veteran from Columbus, OH. The Family is a freestanding Plaster sculpture of a family in an embrace. The father towers over his wife and child, looking down at them as his wife leans into his chest and their son into hers.
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.
