November 10, 1995
Contact: Ellie Shick, Information Officer (615) 322-2706
Vanderbilt biography reveals first artist
to promote blacks
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A Vanderbilt University art professor has
conducted the first in-depth study of the "father" of African-American
art.
"Aaron Douglas was the first American artist, black or white,
to incorporate African art motifs in his work," said Amy Helene Kirschke,
senior lecturer of fine arts who is the first to write a biography of the
artist.
"He used his art to promote racial equality during the Harlem
Renaissance, which was a cultural movement occurring in the 1920s and 1930s."
Although primarily a literary movement, it also embraced theatre, poetry
and art. Douglas' art frequently appeared in two magazines that accompanied
the movement, The Crisis and Opportunity, A Journal of Negro Life.
"Born in Kansas City, Douglas (1899-1979) rose from humble beginnings
to become the most significant visual artist of the movement," Kirschke
said. His paintings, public murals and book and
magazine illustrations drew praise from both blacks and whites.
"In this way, he made black art more accessible to white audiences
as well," Kirschke said.
Over the years, Douglas became a proponent of Africanism, protecting
the movement from the influence of white culture. Although white patrons
gave generous support, Douglas regarded the
Harlem Renaissance as a rare and exceptional black movement and struggled
to maintain its clear identity.
"Contrary to the beliefs of mainstream historians, I believe the
Harlem Renaissance movement was not controlled by white patronage, and Douglas
is an example of that," Kirschke said. "In his private letters
to his future wife Douglas said, `Sometimes we respond to what the patrons
want, but frequently we ignore them and do what we please.'"
Kirschke is the first to have access to Douglas' candid love letters,
which were discovered a few years ago in an old Brownstone in Harlem and
donated to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New
York Public Library. Her exhaustive research also drew from oral and taped
interviews with many who knew the artist personally.
During the turbulent 1930s, Douglas briefly turned to radical politics.
He vacillated between advocating separatism and integration as the best
strategy for advancing American blacks. However, he ultimately favored maintaining
a distinct African-American identity within the American culture.
Today, his work can be found in New York, Washington D.C., Nashville
and other areas throughout the country. It is increasingly in demand by
prominent collectors, such as actor and
comedian Bill Cosby, who has the largest private African-American art collection
in the nation.
Kirschke teaches African-American art and African art at Vanderbilt
and is author of the new book Aaron Douglas: Art, Race and the Harlem Renaissance
(University of Mississippi Press, 1995). "Douglas's art remains valuable
to artists of a new generation who face many of the same obstacles and challenges,"
Kirschke said.
-VU-
Vanderbilt
Office of News and Public Affairs
HTML Translation by Billy Kingsley
Document last updated Jan. 27, 1997