Displaying items by tag: Romare Bearden

Celebrated poet, writer, actress, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou’s private collection of African-American art, most of which has never been shown publicly, is heading to auction at Swann Auction Galleries on September 15.

The collection of nearly 50 artworks, including pieces by Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Melvin Edwards, and Jonathan Green, was directly consigned by Angelou’s estate to auction house’s African-American Fine Art Department. Angelou’s family are “happy to have the art that she loved, bring joy and inspiration to the lives of others,” according to a statement by the author’s son Guy Johnson.

The Art Dealers Association of America’s (ADAA) 27th annual Art Show opened to the public on Wednesday, March 4, 2015. The ADAA Art Show’s kick-off marks the beginning of New York City's Armory Week -- a highly-anticipated, multifaceted art event that includes a dizzying array of fairs, gallery exhibitions, and related happenings.

Held at the historic Park Avenue Armory, this year’s ADAA Art Show features thoughtfully curated solo, two-person, and thematic exhibitions organized by 72 of the country’s leading art dealers. Featuring both modern masters and cutting-edge contemporary works in all media, the show allows exhibitors to emphasize their gallery’s vision through these finely curated exhibitions. Highlights include Thomas Colville Fine Art’s (Guilford, Connecticut) presentation of works by James Abbott McNeill Whistler and other artists who were influenced by the late nineteenth-century painter, and Hirschl & Adler Galleries’ (New York, New York) exploration of Jazz Age Modernism, which includes works by Winold Reiss, Romare Bearden, Stuart Davis, and others.

The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, New Hampshire, is currently hosting “Romare Bearden: A Black Odyssey.” The exhibition, which was organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in cooperation with the Romare Bearden Foundation and Estate and New York’s DC Moore Gallery, has been displayed at five venues before going on view at the Currier Museum. After its time in New Hampshire, the show will travel to New York City for presentation at Columbia University.

During the late 1970s, Romare Bearden created a series of collages and watercolors based on Homer’s epic poem, “The Odyssey.” Shortly after its completion, the series was broken up and scattered amongst public and private collections. “A Black Odyssey” presents the complete, 55-piece series in chronological order. Together, the works tell the ancient story of Odysseus’ journey, through the lens of Bearden’s own experience as an African-American.

Bearden, who moved to New York City from North Carolina as a child, was part of the Great Migration of African-Americans from the tumultuous South to greater opportunity in the North. Throughout his career, Bearden explored themes such as home, classical subjects, and belonging, all of which are touched upon in his Odyssey series.

“Romare Bearden: A Black Odyssey” will remain on view at the Currier Museum of Art through August 17.

The Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University is currently hosting the exhibition ‘Romare Bearden: A Black Odyssey.’ Romare Bearden, one of the most important figures in 20th century art, created a series of collages and watercolors based on Homer’s epic poem, ‘The Odyssey’ during the late 1970s. Shortly after its completion, the series was broken up and scattered amongst private collections and public art museums. ‘A Black Odyssey’ presents the complete series thanks to the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, which assembled the show in cooperation with the Romare Bearden Foundation and Estate and DC Moore Gallery.

Bearden, who moved to New York City from North Carolina as a child, was part of the Great Migration of African Americans from the tumultuous South to greater opportunity in the North. Throughout his career, Bearden explored themes such as home, classical subjects, and belonging, all of which are touched upon in his Odyssey series.

‘Romare Bearden: A Black Odyssey’ will be on view at the Michael C. Carlos Museum through March 9, 2014.

Colby College in Waterville, Maine will unveil its 26,000-square foot Alfond-Lunder Family Pavilion on Saturday, July 13, 2013 at an opening event for friends of the institution followed by an open house on Sunday. One of the inaugural exhibitions, The Lunder Collection: A Gift of Art to Colby College, will present over 280 works gifted to the Colby College Museum of Art by major supporters, Peter and Paula Lunder. Mr. Lunder is a life overseer of the institution while Mrs. Lunder is a life trustee of the board.

The other exhibitions that will be on view include a selection of Chinese art from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Lunder-Colville Collection; a presentation of American folk art weathervanes; paintings from the Alex Katz Foundation; a survey of abstract works by John Marin; and an exhibition exploring the design of the new pavilion, which adds 10,000 square feet of gallery space to the museum.

The Lunder Collection: A Gift of Art to Colby College, which includes works by John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, Alexander Calder and Romare Bearden will be the highlight of the museum’s opening festivities.

Romare Bearden: The Paper Truth opens October 24 at the 92^nd Street Y’s Milton J. Weill Art Gallery in Tribeca. Featuring 44 works on paper by Romare Bearden who is best known for his expressive depictions of African-American life, the exhibition includes watercolors, collages, and mixed media pieces.

The Paper Truth wouldn’t be possible without Russell Goings, a longtime friend of Bearden. The two met in the late 1960s when Goings was the chairman of the Studio Museum in Harlem and Bearden was a member of the institution’s board. The two struck up a friendship that resulted in Goings’ impressive collection of hundreds of Bearden’s works, some that he bought from Bearden and some he received as gifts from the artist.

The exhibition includes a self-portrait that Bearden made just days before his death in 1988 at age 75. Drawn on a page from a book of Jewish mysticism, the works has never been shown publicly. Two series, The Odyssey and The Historical Figures are also part of exhibition. Bearden made several versions of The Odyssey but the 22-piece series being shown has not been displayed in its entirety in New York in over thirty years. The Historical Figures series, a small collection of portraits of people of all races who helped to shape African-American history, has never been exhibited in New York.

The exhibition, which is on loan from the collection of Russell Goings and Evelyn Boulware (Goings’ longtime companion), will be on view through December 9.

Four works by the late African-American artist Romare Bearden, who spent part of his childhood in Pittsburgh, are featured in a set of Forever stamps released Wednesday by the U.S. Postal Service.

The artist is best known for his vibrant collages that pushed the boundaries of the medium. His subject matter was drawn from music, particularly blues and jazz; the African-American experience; literary sources; religion; and from his own life in North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Harlem.

"Using various materials, such as foil, cut paper, and fabric, Romare Bearden transformed collage into a forceful means of expression with mainstream appeal -- and in doing so, he framed the complexities of the African-American experience in a broad historical and cultural context," Deputy Postmaster Gen. Ron Stroman said when the stamps were unveiled at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City.

The post office chose four collages to reproduce: "Conjunction." 1971, "Odysseus: Poseidon, The Sea God -- Enemy of Odysseus," 1977; "Prevalence of Ritual: Conjur Woman," 1964; and "Falling Star," 1979.