“Jeunesse” (French for Young People) by Palmer Hayden (1927)
This work was influenced by the enjoyment of jazz, an often improvisational musical form developed during the 1920s by African Americans. The sound is influenced by European harmonic structure and African rhythmic complexity. Harlem has long been an important center for jazz. Palmer Hayden could have seen such dancing as this at the Savoy, which was Harlem's most famous jazz club.
Step 1: Observe
1. What does the painting depict?
2. What do you see in the background? Be sure to look to the left & right!
Step 2: Reflect
3. Based on this painting, how important was jazz music during the Harlem Renaissance and the 1920s?
4. Who is the intended audience for this painting? How do you know?
Step 1: Observe
1. What does the painting depict?
2. What do you see in the background? Be sure to look to the left & right!
Step 2: Reflect
3. Based on this painting, how important was jazz music during the Harlem Renaissance and the 1920s?
4. Who is the intended audience for this painting? How do you know?
“Anna Washington Derry” by Laura Wheeling Warring (1927)
Laura Wheeling Waring made the lives of living African Americans the subjects of their many portraits. In Waring's paintings, the person is the sole focus.
Waring’s most remembered work was portraits, which was largely of upper class African-Americans and whites. The focus of her painting promoted charges of her being restrictive, but this is unfair since few people who were not of the upper classes could afford having their portraits done by professional artists.
She is distinguished from other American painters of the period not only for her talent but also for the unusual amount of formal training she underwent.
Step 1: Observe
1. What is the subject of the painting?
2. Why is the subject most likely a wealthy African-American woman?
Step 2: Reflect
3. Who is the intended audience for Warring’s work? How do you know?
4. How is Warring different from other African-American painters of the same time period?
5. Why is Warring’s work so significant?
Waring’s most remembered work was portraits, which was largely of upper class African-Americans and whites. The focus of her painting promoted charges of her being restrictive, but this is unfair since few people who were not of the upper classes could afford having their portraits done by professional artists.
She is distinguished from other American painters of the period not only for her talent but also for the unusual amount of formal training she underwent.
Step 1: Observe
1. What is the subject of the painting?
2. Why is the subject most likely a wealthy African-American woman?
Step 2: Reflect
3. Who is the intended audience for Warring’s work? How do you know?
4. How is Warring different from other African-American painters of the same time period?
5. Why is Warring’s work so significant?
“From Slavery to Reconstruction” from Aspects of Negro Life series by Aaron Douglas (1934)
This painting comes from a series of murals dealt with the history of blacks in the US and the history of Africa. Many of Douglas’s work were heavily inspired by African culture and the black experience in the US.
In 1934, he was commissioned to paint a series of murals for The New York Public Library's 135th Street branch, “From Slavery to Reconstruction” being one of them. Aspects of Negro Life murals are characteristic of Douglas's style, demonstrating the dynamic incorporation of such influences as African sculpture, jazz music, dance, and abstract geometric forms. Douglas is considered the foremost visual artist of the Harlem Renaissance.
Step 1: Observe
1. Look at the entire painting. Describe at least 3 things you see.
2. What is growing in the foreground of the painting? Why would the author choose this plant?
Step 2: Reflect
3. How does the painting portray the African-American story? Positively? Negatively? How do you know?
4. How does the painting reflect the Harlem Renaissance?
In 1934, he was commissioned to paint a series of murals for The New York Public Library's 135th Street branch, “From Slavery to Reconstruction” being one of them. Aspects of Negro Life murals are characteristic of Douglas's style, demonstrating the dynamic incorporation of such influences as African sculpture, jazz music, dance, and abstract geometric forms. Douglas is considered the foremost visual artist of the Harlem Renaissance.
Step 1: Observe
1. Look at the entire painting. Describe at least 3 things you see.
2. What is growing in the foreground of the painting? Why would the author choose this plant?
Step 2: Reflect
3. How does the painting portray the African-American story? Positively? Negatively? How do you know?
4. How does the painting reflect the Harlem Renaissance?