Class Divisions – Due to class income gaps, wealthier African Americans, mostly from the Black bourgeois, strived to champion ‘respectable’ art that signified middle-class propriety. This often clashed with artists’ expectations to portray Black life, encompassing poverty, sexuality, and street culture.

Debates on Aesthetic Priorities – Several African American patrons preferred art that showcased dignity and racial uplift, whereas others such as Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston wanted the unvarnished truth of Black existence to be represented in art.

Dependence on White Patrons – A great deal of attention in the Black community was focused on very rich white patrons like Charlotte Osgood Mason and Carl Van Vechten. This created a problem because there were few black artists who could be assured creative freedom and control. Most black art seemed to be created for a white audience, devoid of anything authentic representing the black experience.