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Throughout the Modern Art course, we have studied many different artists, styles, and themes. One recurring theme you will find in any art history course or textbook is the omission of African American and Black artists and their works. In recent years, strides have been taken to give these artists the recognition and praise that they deserve, but it remains a struggle to pave the way in a predominantly white field. An article titled ‘Race and Misrepresentation: The Black Body in White Art History’ explains it perfectly by stating, “So much of the art that we see in our museums and galleries is distinctly white. Black people have been systematically excluded from the artistic canon. Even when black people become the subject of artworks, they are often depicted in a problematic way. This is particularly evident in the artistic portrayal of black women; they are frequently objectified, eroticized, or depicted as uncivilized. Moreover, notions of modern art and contemporary art are focused upon Eurocentric beliefs that the West is the pioneer of modern, radical thought” (Woodhams 2020).

In this writing, I will attempt to highlight the struggles and lived experiences of Black and African American artists in the modern era as well as more recent times. This essay is a small step in trying to give these brilliant artists the recognition they deserve. By exploring their personal lives, the works they produced, and how the public responded to their works, we will better be able to understand their struggles. Understanding the obstacles Black and African American artists faced will help us now give them and their work the acknowledgment and respect that their white counterparts receive with more ease. The artists that will be studied in this writing are Henry Ossawa Tanner, Horace Pippin, Jacob Lawrence, Charles White, and Kehinde Wiley.

Two modern artists that greatly faced obstacles trying to pave their way in the world of art were Henry Ossawa Tanner and Horace Pippin. Because of their race, they received less recognition than their white counterparts, less pay, fewer opportunities, and overall were given less respect from other artists, critics, museum directors, and more.

Henry Ossawa Tanner was born in 1859 in Pittsburg. His middle name came from the story of abolitionist John Brown who first fought proslavery men in Osawatomie, Kansas. When Henry was born, he was incredibly small and fragile which impacted his quality of life later on. He could not complete heavy work or do strenuous physical activities which greatly impacted his mental health as well. Henry Ossawa Tanner’s father was a bishop in the Church when the Civil War was beginning and his goal was to help Black people find freedom and spiritual peace. Tanner’s father and mother were extremely supportive of his dream to be an artist and they often told him that Black people could succeed at anything. When Henry was growing up, he struggled to find opportunities for training and exploration in the arts. Six Black Masters of American Art states, “Seeking training, he earnestly knocked at artists' doors. Invariably they turned him down, apparently because of his color…He determined to struggle on alone. He went to the zoo to draw animals. He drew and painted his friends and family. He modeled animals and figures” (Bearden and Henderson, 1972, Page 43). Henry had to work extra hard just to step foot into the art world and begin learning. Three years later while at an exhibition, Tanner saw the works of an African American woman named Edmonia Lewis who became a sculptor in Rome, and a landscape painting by a Black artist named Edward M. Bannister; He was very impressed and inspired by these works. Eventually, Tanner was able to receive lessons from Thomas Eakins and for the next few years Henry had artistic guidance, but at the cost of being hurt, mentally and physically abused, and humiliated by fellow students who did not accept him. After leaving Eakin's class feeling confident, Tanner struggled to sell paintings, support himself, and gain financial stability. An article called ‘A Missing Question Mark: The Unknown Henry Ossawa Tanner’ wrote, “Tanner wrote that the memory of these tortures was worse than the experiences themselves, in short, the ongoing mental anguish exceeded specific instances of racism. Being black inside a white world had a price, Tanner learned, one that would be exacted at every turn in ways both blatant and subtle. The effect on Tanner of intimidation and brutality should not be underestimated: the racists of the world, and in America, they were seemingly endless, could thwart one's career. Doors could be closed, opportunities denied. Not every instructor, not every colleague would be as supportive as Eakins... Tanner could have a career in art in America, but it was clear to him that it would be forever fraught with obstacles” (South, 2009). Although Tanner faced all of these obstacles, he still managed to become a well-known artist that won awards, prizes, and honors, and he received spots in museums and exhibitions for his works.

Horace Pippin was born in 1888 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He grew up in a village and attended a one-room school with a single teacher. At an early age, Horace took an interest in drawing and was constantly drawing images during school and at home, taking inspiration from his community and surroundings. His parents struggled to make ends meet and afford basic school materials which made it hard for young Pippin to pursue his interests in art. As a teenager, Horace bounced around from job to job to support himself and his ill mother who eventually passed away. When the United States entered World War 1, Horace had to quit his jobs and join the army. Horace joined a unit of Black soldiers that was sent to France since the white American soldiers refused to march with them (How Art Saved His Life: Story of Horace Pippin). According to Six Black Masters of American Art, “Pippin’s unit was shifted from place to place, but always kept in the front lines… He remembered the way he and his whole Black American regiment were put in the French army, then ordered into one battle after another, until they were nearly all dead or wounded like himself” (Bearden and Henderson, 1972, Page 65 & 68). The use of Black and African American soldiers consistently as pawns in the war left Horace with a great amount of guilt, trauma, and depression. He was discharged after suffering an injury to his arm that left him unable to move and control his arm. Slowly, Horace began to practice creating art, having to relearn and retrain his body after the accident. In the short ten years that Horace was a recognized painter, he was considered a genius that overcame the handicap of his war-shattered arm and established himself as a master of color and design. Unfortunately, he died just before receiving the proper recognition he deserved.

In these next few paragraphs, I will discuss the works created by Henry Ossawa Tanner and Horace Pippin. I will also evaluate how they used their styles, mediums, and subjects to convey messages, their lived experiences, and their life stories. The work that we will be discussing from Henry Ossawa Tanner is The Thankful Poor and the work we will be viewing from Horace Pippin is The Ending of the War. Both of these artists used their lived experiences, struggles, and memories to create art that conveys their stories or messages. For these two artists, art is an opportunity for them to express their emotions, beliefs, values, and thoughts.

Horace Pippin created The Ending of the War, Starting Home from 1930-1933. This painting is Oil on canvas and is roughly 26 by 30 inches. This work depicts soldiers wearing brown uniforms and carrying bayonets. The Black and African American soldiers are moving in on the German troops that seem to be surrendering or running away while one American soldier can be seen down on the battlefield. In the sky, German and French fighter planes are battling while bombs explode along the horizon line. Along the frame of the painting, Pippin incorporated some of the advanced weapons that were used in the war including tanks, guns, grenades, gas masks, and more (Philadelphia Museum of Art). The image is very dark, haunting, and gruesome; all things that Horace lived through and experienced during the war. The soldiers have no expression, there is no celebration, and the Earth itself is torn apart from the battle. Six Black Masters of American Art discusses the mood and emotion portrayed in this work by saying, “This picture of utter destruction and desolation, so patiently and intensely worked over by a man wounded and disabled in the war, is a profound anti war painting. In it everything is destroyed. Even the end of the war is not a triumph for the victors” (Bearden and Henderson, 1972, Page 70 & 71). There was so much violence, killing, and discrimination that Black troops faced leaving them with trauma for the rest of their lives and not even the end of the war could bring comfort to them. Pippin went on to create several more paintings depicting the life of Black soldiers. Due to Pippin's injury, he could not paint fine or detailed brushstrokes. Instead, he used bold colors and abstract forms to represent his images. Critics called Pippin uneducated and his style was often criticized as being naive, simple, childish. The critics failed to see his great use of design, color, and emotion. Horace Pippin was a dedicated artist that overcame physical and mental battles to create art that told the story of his lived experiences. He may have only had a brief moment of recognition in his life, but today, his works are shown in museums all over the world.

The Thankful Poor by Henry Ossawa Tanner was created in 1984. It is an Oil painting on canvas and is roughly 25 by 44 inches. Making the Whole World Kin describes the painting by stating, “The Thankful Poor…represents the kind of black genre painting initially expected from Tanner. In the former, a man and a boy, presumably a grandson, both black, sit at a table with their heads bowed to say grace over their meal. Race here is incidental to rituals rooted in the larger culture” (Mullarkey, 2009, Page 3). This work is one of the artist's last known “genre” paintings before he began painting strictly religious scenes. Tanner’s title was meant to honor the contributions and struggles of poor Black people in the south. In this painting, the child's eyes are closed and he touches his forehead with one hand for prayer while he grasps the table with the other. This gesture suggests that he is attempting to emulate his grandfather's devotion, yet his youthfulness is eager to start the meal. All of the information in this work highlights the central images of youth, age, poverty, and prayer. “Lifting the Veil'' by Judith Wilson explains the not so obvious messages in this work by writing, “Both canvases invest their ordinary, underprivileged, Black subjects with a degree of dignity and self-possession that seems extraordinary for the times in which they were painted. And perhaps most remarkable of all is the artist's emotional poise, his successful avoidance of melodrama, exoticism, cloying sentimentality, excessive moralizing, triteness. But to late 20th-century eyes-which a long line of genuinely demeaning have conditioned to read "passivity:' "impotence:' and/or denial of cultural identity into almost any scene in which the activity of Black males falls short of armed rebellion or suggests something less than complete rejection of Euro-American culture” (Judith, 1992, Page 41). Tanner was one of the first modern African American artists to receive recognition in both America and Europe which meant that he was one of the earliest artists to offer a counter narrative to the stereotypes of African Americans— stereotypes that he faced in his everyday life (National Museum of African Art). Both Tanner and Pippin worked hard to break the stigmas regarding their race and culture by painting their own lived experiences and through telling their stories.

For the rest of this essay, I am going to explore how Black or African American artists in more recent times continue to tell their stories using concepts from the modern artist before them. To do this, I will examine the works of Charles White and Jacob Lawrence. Charles White created Hope for the Future in 1945. This work was created using lithography and he created this while an artist in residence at Howard University. In this piece, a sorrowful mother protectively holds up her child which represents hope for the future. The Met further describes this piece by stating, “Although the title indicates an optimistic outcome, the view through the window suggests just the opposite. Under cold gray skies, a lone leafless tree inhabits a barren lifeless world. The noose tied to its branches is a chilling reminder of the lynching's taking place in the South and an indication of the newborn's uncertain fate” (The Met). Charles White uses his art to bring awareness to the oppression, violence, and discrimination that Black and African Americans face in America. Hope for the Future condemns the violence facing African Americans and forces the viewer to confront these harsh realities.

Another artist in this same time period that told the history of Black and African Americans through the creation of art is Jacob Lawrence. Tombstones by Jacob Lawrence was created in 1942 and the medium is opaque watercolor on paper. Lawrence used subjects from the streets and interiors of Harlem in the 1940’s. This particular painting depicts neighbors and residents in front of an apartment building. The cycle of life is portrayed and shows the inner workings of the African American community. The Whitney Museum of American Art wrote, “It encapsulates the full sweep of life within the African American community, from the cradle—the baby carriage at left, the Madonna-like mother and child at right—to the grave, marked at center by the tombstone seller’s wares. Painted a year after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, and a year before the artist would be inducted into the United States Coast Guard as a steward’s mate, Tombstones displays Lawrence’s unflinching realism regarding the cycle of life and death, in his own community and beyond” (Whitney Museum of American Art). Charles White and Jacob Lawrence spent their times as artists working to portray African-American life and to share their experiences with the rest of the art world.

Throughout this essay, I have attempted to highlight the struggles and experiences of Black and African American artists. Discrimination and racism made it so much harder for artists of color to make a name for themselves and make a living as a creator. Artists like Jacob Lawrence, Charles White, Horace Pippin, and Henry Ossawa Tanner share their experiences, struggles, and emotions through the use of different styles and mediums.

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Writing Sources

Bearden, R., & Henderson, H. (1972). Six black masters of american art. Doubleday.

Editors, B. (2020, June 9). Profile: Charles White (1918–1979). Black Art Story. Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://blackartstory.org/2019/08/24/profile-charles-white-1918-1979/

Lawrence, J. (n.d.). Jacob Lawrence: Tombstones. Jacob Lawrence | Tombstones | Whitney Museum of American Art. Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://whitney.org/collection/works/1192

Metmuseum.org. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/491418

Michalska, M. (2022, September 26). How art saved his life: Story of Horace Pippin. DailyArt Magazine. Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/horace-pippin/

Mullarkey, M. (2009, September 1). Making the Whole World Kin. Magazine Antiques. Retrieved from https://web-p-ebscohost-com.libproxy.siue.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=2264758d-f628-47be-97c0-e3e18ffcc3ee%40redis.

National Museum of African Art - Smithsonian Institution. National Museum of African Art Smithsonian Institution. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://africa.si.edu/

South, W. (1970, January 1). A missing question mark: The unknown Henry Ossawa Tanner. Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide. Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://www.19thc-artworldwide.org/autumn09/a-missing-question-mark

Wilson, J. (1992). Lifting "The Veil": Henry O. Tanner 's The Banjo Lesson and The Thankful Poor, 1–25.

Woodhams, H. (2020, July 9). Race and misrepresentation: The black body in white art history. Szentek. Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://www.szentek.uk/news/race-and-misrepresentation-the-black-body-in-white-art-history

Image Sources

A&E Networks Television. (n.d.). Biography.com. Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://www.biography.com/

Charles White. hope for the future. 1945: Moma. The Museum of Modern Art. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://www.moma.org/collection/works/166553

The ending of the war, starting home. Philadelphia Museum of Art. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/46280

Spiritualities – Conversations. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2022, from http://conversations.africa.si.edu/themes/spiritualities/

Visual art encyclopedia. www.wikiart.org. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://www.wikiart.org/

Jacob-Lawrence. (2021, December 26). Tombstones, 1942, Jacob Lawrence. Jacob Lawrence. Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://jacob-lawrence.tumblr.com/post/640582199509434368/tombstones-1942-jacob-lawrence/amp

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The Ending of the War, Starting Home by Horace Pippin

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The Ending of the War, Starting Home by Horace Pippin

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The Thankful Poor by Henry Ossawa Tanner

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The Thankful Poor by Henry Ossawa Tanner