2. Harlem Renaissance:
Visual Arts
By:
Yasmin Westres, Wilner Laborde, Jasmine Garnett,
Maria Flores

3. Major Influences
Migration:
•Great Migration of African Americans from rural to urban spaces and from South to North;
dramatically rising levels of literacy; the creation of national organizations dedicated to pressing
African American civil rights, “uplifting” the race, and opening socioeconomic opportunities; and
developing race pride, including pan-African sensibilities and programs.
Location:
•Harlem was a catalyst for artistic experimentation and a highly popular nightlife destination. Its
location in the communications capital of North America helped give the “New Negroes” visibility and
opportunities for publication not evident elsewhere. It was a particularly fertile place for cultural
experimentation.
Their roots:
•The international appeal of jazz and its connection to common black life encouraged black
intellectuals in other fields to turn increasingly to specifically “Negro” aesthetic forms as a basis for
innovation and self-expression

4. Major Artists &
Contributions
•Aaron Douglas
•Lois Mailou Jones
•Palmer Hayden
•Augusta Savage

5. Their Artwork

6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=koMXHaPlLEs -

7. Influential Persons
•
•Arturo Schomburg

8. Influence on
American Society
•Black heritage coincided with efforts to create an American
culture by ethnic pluralism
•African American’s long struggle for freedom made them
the artistic innovators of American culture
•European and White Americans artists and writers
particularly interested in African American production
because of interest in the “primitive” nature

9. How were they a part of the
lives of African Americans
Unity:
•One of the largest examples of social unity
•Migration brings unity
•Followed hardships; WWI & Jim Crow Laws
•Freedom within life; the past is rejected & people a new life with opportunity begins; African
Americans are given the opportunity to proclaim themselves as an independent culture
Ethical Awareness:
•Distinction of the African American race
•Lifted African Americans from national “civilization” ranking
•Provided a passage way for America & other cultures
•Brought about an age for cultural development as one unit

10. Continued…
Advancement in Society & Ethical Accomplishments:
• Gained understanding by expressing life & heritage within their art
• Pursuing art became a choice; less creative exploration & understanding due to Jim
Crow Laws
• Arts as a celebratory act
• An expression & story of life

12. Bibliography
•African American Art: Harlem Renaissance." African American Art: Harlem Renaissance. Ed. Richard J. Powell.
Artlex.com, Apr.-May 2005. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
•N/A. "Harlem Renaissance (American Literature and Art)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica,
2013. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
•A&E Networks Television. "BIO Classroom." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
•A&E Networks Television. "Langston Hughes Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 26 Feb.
2013.
•A&E Networks Television. "Lois Mailou Jones Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 22 Feb.
2013.
•African American Art. "Augusta Savage: African-American Sculptor (1892-1962)." YouTube. YouTube, 14 Jan. 2009.
Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
•Canvas Replicas. "Henry Ossawa Tanner Gallery - Oil Painting Reproductions." Henry Ossawa Tanner Gallery - Oil
Painting Reproductions. Canvas Replicas, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
•Colin Quashie Art. "QUASHIE ART: Aaron Douglas." QUASHIE ART: Aaron Douglas. Colin Quashie Art, 10 June
2011. Web. 22 Feb. 2013.
•Encyclopedia Britannica. "Harlem Renaissance (American Literature and Art) : Black Heritage and American
Culture." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
•Flynn, Patricia. "88.02.02: The Harlem Renaissance: Black American Traditions." 88.02.02: The Harlem Renaissance:
Black American Traditions. Yale-New Haven, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
•Fredericksburg. "Fredericksburg.com - Palmer Hayden: Painter of the People." Fredericksburg.com - Palmer Hayden:
Painter of the People. Fredericksburg.org, 16 Feb. 2005. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
•Hughes, Langston. "The Negro Speaks of Rivers." - Poets.org. Poets.org, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2013.

13. • PBS. "1920s-MID-1930s Harlem Renaissance." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
• PBS. "Harlem Renaissance." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
• PBS. "PBS News Hour." PBS. PBS, 20 Feb. 1998. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
• Powell, Richard J. "African American Art: Harlem Renaissance." African American Art: Harlem Renaissance. African
American Art, Apr. 2005. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
• Ramapo College. "Provost." Ramapo College of New Jersey || : Schomburg Award : Home. Ramapo College, n.d. Web. 26
Feb. 2013.
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n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
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• Wordpress. "Broad Strokes: The National Museum of Women in the Arts' Blog." Broad Strokes The National Museum of
Women in the Arts Blog. Wordpress, 24 Feb. 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
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Ragar, Cheryl R.; Knappe, Stephanie Fox; Spencer Museum of Art, The University of Kansas. Yale, 28 Oct. 2007. Web. 26
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• K-State Libraries. "Talking in the Library." 'Talking in the Library' K-State Libraries, 10 Feb. 2009. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
• New York Times. "Sunday Book Review." Nytimes.com. Nytimes.com, 13 Apr. 2008. Web. 22 Feb. 2013.