1979 Afro-American Women Artists

By the mid-nineteenth century the professional Black American artist had emerged. The earliest documented Black American sculptor was a female, Edmonia Lewis, an expatriate who lived and worked primarily in Rome. It is interesting to note that the first one-hundred years of Black American sculpture were dominated by female talents as that cumbersome medium is generally associated with males. In addition to Edmonia Lewis, other noted Black female sculptors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were Elizabeth Prophet, Meta Warrick Fuller, May Howard Jackson, Augusta Savage, Selma Burke and Elizabeth Catlett.Black female artists played vital roles during the Harlem Renaissance period between 1900-1929 as well as during the ensuing years of the Depression of the 1930’s and the government-sponsored W.P.A. Arts Project. Augusta Savage organized the Harlem Community Art Center during the 1930’s which attracted such budding young talents as William Artis, James Lewis, Ernest Crichlow and Jacob Lawrence. Savage was also commissioned to design a large sculpture, Lift Every Voice and Sing, for the Negro Pavilion of the New York World’s Fair of 1939. Elizabeth Catlett became the first Black to be awarded the M.F.A. degree from the University of Iowa. The subjects of her powerful sculptures range from the Mother and Child themes of the 1940’s to the current Black Expressionist works she creates in Mexico, her adopted country, where she is chairperson of the sculpture department at the University of Mexico. Although Catlett has I lived in Mexico for a number of years she has never forgotten the struggle of her sisters and brothers in America. The painting career of Lois Jones Pierre-Noel represents one of the longest and most successful of a living Black American female. From the early works of the 1940’s in France in the Cezannesque tradition to the I lively, colorful Haitian themes of the 1950’s and 60’s and the current African-inspired themes, Jones Pierre-Noel has continuously produced remarkable works. She has also influenced more than three generations of students at Howard University where she taught design and watercolor painting for more than forty years until her recent retirement.

The contemporary scene involving Black female artists is variegated and representative of all the current stylistic trends. The majority of these artists work in the Abstract-Non-Objective style, which is mainstream art, or in a style called Black Expressionism, which depicts Black imagery, is message-oriented, sometimes political, and may contain African motifs. Female 9rtists who work in the mainstream tradition produce art which is not racially identifiable and reflects the stylistic trends of their Anglo-American peers. Black Expressionism was born out of the civil rights activities and racial unrest of the 1960’s when large numbers of Black artists became aware of the need for a racially-motivated art directed at Black audiences who are not generally a museum-going public. This style was also developed out of the frustrations of Black artists who felt excluded from white museums, galleries and the structure of the white art establishment. Out of this period grew the neighborhood Black mural movement which had its genesis in the Wall of Respect in Chicago, and such “families” of Black artists as AfriCOBRA in Chicago and Weusi in Harlem to which women belong, 9nd play important roles.

A final group of Black female artists are those who work in the naive or folk art tradition and paint without the benefit of formal artistic training. Two of the best-known contemporary exponents are natives of Louisiana. Gertrude Morgan of New Orleans, the self-proclaimed “Bride of God,” paints literal interpretations of Biblical passages with hand-written verses and poems as a part of the overall design. In Natchitoches, Clementine Hunter currently paints still-fifes, religious scenes, weddings, funerals, cotton and pecan-picking scenes, Saturday night fish-frys and other activities of the Melrose community where she has lived for over ninety years. Minnie Evans of Wilmington, North Carolina is the author of an unconscious surrealism in which brightly colored flowers, animals, plants, angels, demons and other complex forms are revealing of the works of a visionary who equates God with nature.

Upon the occasion of this exhibition of contemporary female artists at Florida A & M University, representative examples of the mainstream and Black Expressionism trends may be seen. These impressive works include examples of painting, sculpture, weaving, ceramics, and mixed media. They represent outstanding Black female talents from the south such as Yvonne Tucker, Winnie Owens, Lana Henderson, and Jewel Simon. Midwest and east coast artists in the exhibit ion are Adrienne Hoard, Camille Billops, Wilhelmina Godfrey, Martha Jackson, Doris Colbert, Oletha De Vane, Joyce Scott, Elizabeth Scott, and Vivian Brown. From as far west as Los Angeles are the sensitive Black Expressionist constructions of Betty Saar who has emerged as a nationally prominent artistic personality. A number of artists represented in this exhibition are young talents whose works show tremendous promise and will, undoubtedly, benefit from further exposure. Without total regard to stylistic category, the artists represented in this exhibition are serious, talented and well-trained women who are dedicated to their profession and to the continuation of an active and positive role which Black females have evidenced in American art since its inception.