Historical Artists
THE BANJO LESSON by HENRY OSSAWA TANNER (completed in 1893). Henry Ossawa Tanner was one of the first African-American artists to achieve a reputation in both America and Europe. Tanner worked in the Naturalist and genre traditions of American art. Though his work grew increasingly mainstream and allegorical, his early depictions of humble black folk about their daily lives are regarded as classic statements of African-American pride and dignity.

From the "GREAT IDEAS" series by JACOB LAWRENCE, Painter, Artist, Educator (1917-2000). At age 82, Jacob Lawrence was considered to be "the most widely praised African-American artist of the 20th century." As an African-American in the visual arts, his work had carried him to the pinnacle of success and fame. Art critics have called him a "BLACK MODERNIST" because of his fusion of PRIMITIVE, EUROPEAN, and AFRICAN-AMERICAN vignette. Lawrence also utilized Expressionism, Cubism, and African Art designs in his paintings.

JACOB LAWRENCE was the first artist to win the NAACP'S SPINGARN MEDAL in 1970. He was awarded several fellowships, including the ROSENWALD and GUGGENHEIM FELLOWSHIPS. He was member of the NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ARTS AND LETTERS and has taught at PRATT INSTITUTE in New York City. He served as head of the Art Department at the University of Washington in Seattle and is presently PROFESSOR EMERITUS there. His works are featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of Art. He died on June 10, 2000.

Robert S. Duncanson (1821-1872), the first major Black landscape painter in America, was a well known and commercially successful artist during his time.

Aaron Douglas was the primary illustrator of the Harlem Renaissance, the '20s literary movement that sought a powerful, independent black identity.



For more African-American Art History please visit:
African Americans in the Visual Arts, A Historical Perspective
http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/aavaahp.htm