Patterns of Visibility
ELIZABETH CATLETT (American-Mexican, 1915–2012), There is a Woman in Every Color, 1975, color linoleum cut, screenprint, and woodcut, 22 1/4 x 29 15/16 in. (56.52 x 76.04 cm), Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund, 2015.61. © 2021 Catlett Mora Family Trust / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
WILLIAM MATTHEW PRIOR (American, 1806–1873), Mrs. Nancy Lawson, 1843, oil on canvas, 30 1/8 in. x 25 in. (76.52 cm x 63.5 cm), Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont. Artwork in the public domain.
DESCHAMPS DE LA TALAIRE (French, active in Paris, circa 1760), Portrait of a Biracial Woman, 18th century, pastel on paper laid down on canvas, 16 1/8 x 13 1/4 in. (40.96 x 33.66 cm), Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund, 2021.7. Artwork in the public domain.
ILSE MARTHA BISCHOFF (American, 1901–1990), Mary, 1943, oil on canvas, 34 1/8 x 32 1/4 in. (86.68 x 81.92 cm), Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Gift of the artist. Artwork published under fair use.
UNIDENTIFIED PHOTOGRAPHER (American), [Portrait of a Biracial Woman], c. 1855-60, quarter plate ambrotype in thermoplastic case, 4 1/4 x 3 1/4 in. (10.8 x 8.26 cm), Museum Purchase, Gridley W. Tarbell II Fund, 2020.22.4. Artwork in the public domain.
UNIDENTIFIED PHOTOGRAPHER (American), Sojourner Truth with Flowers, CDV, 1864, albumen silver print, 4 x 2 1/2 in. (10.16 x 6.35 cm), Museum Purchase, James Phinney Baxter Fund, 2018.36. Artwork in the public domain.
AUGUSTA SAVAGE (American, 1892–1962), Gamin, ca. 1930, painted plaster, 9 x 5 3/4 x 4 1/4 in. (22.86 x 14.61 x 10.8 cm), Gift of halley k harrisburg, Class of 1990, and Michael Rosenfeld, 2020.52. Artwork in the public domain.
HENRY ROCHER (American, 1824–1887), Edmonia Lewis, 1870, albumen silver print, 3 15/16 x 2 3/8 in. (10 x 6.1 cm), McGuigan Collection. Artwork in the public domain.
DAVID DRISKELL (American, 1931-2020), Benin Woman III, 1972, color woodcut on paper, 15 5/8 in. x 11 1/2 in. (39.69 cm. x 29.21 cm.), Museum Purchase, Art Objects Fund, 1974.62. © Estate of David C. Driskell. Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery, New York
EASTMAN JOHNSON (American, 1824–1906), Dinah, Portrait of a Negress, ca. 1867, oil on board, 10 3/4 x 8 1/2 in. (27.31 x 21.59 cm), Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, South Carolina, Gift of Kathleen Hammer and Arthur Seelbinder and partial museum purchase with funds provided by gifts from Maureen and Roger Ackerman, Ryder Harwood Bishop, Angela R. Black, Mr. and Mrs. Wayne L. Burdick, Susan and Van Campbell, Ted Dintersmith and Elizabeth Hazard, Deborah C. and Neil G. Fisher, Laura D. and Stephen F. Gates, Paulo R. and Beth A. Geiss, Mr. and Mrs. James A. Ham, Sr., Pam and Monte Harrington, Bury and Lesesne Hudson, Teresa D. and Roger L. Jones, Lenna Ruth Macdonald and Robert C. Carew, Angela D. and Ben F. Mack, Debbie Rice-Marko and John Marko, Gwen and Layton McCurdy, Peter and Suzanne Pollak, Harriet B. and Richard W. Smartt, Mr. Todd Smith and Mr. Ben Hood, Tom and Lenora White, Mr. John Henry Dick, Mr. Don R. Gestefeld, Mrs. C. Gustavus Memminger, Ms. Evelyn Borchard Metzger and Ms. Doris Rosenthal. Artwork in the public domain.
EDMONIA LEWIS (American, 1844–1907), Unidentified Female Bust, 1869, marble, 22 x 19 x 11 in. (55.88 x 48.26 x 27.94 cm), Gift of Elizabeth C. Roak and Robert H. Roak, 2017.62. Artwork in the public domain.
ROBERT GAVIN (Scottish, 1826–1883), Head of a Creole Girl, ca. 1855–1871, oil on panel, 10 x 7 1/2 in. (25.4 x 19.05 cm), Gift of Paul and Anima Katz, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA. Artwork in the public domain.
Classical Beauty
Photograph of a nude Black woman shown from the waist up facing the viewer with both hands on upper chest
Photograph of a nude Black woman turned in profile standing in a sparse room in front of a hot water radiator
Marble sculpture of the female allegory of Africa wearing an elephant headdress, carrying a full cornucopia, seated on a pillar and lion’s head
Painted portrait of a nude Black woman standing with a hand on her proper left hip gazing at the viewer, situated against a circular lavender background
Marble half-length bust sculpture of nude woman wearing hair pulled back in a bun with head turned in profile. Acanthus leaf ornamentation beaded across the bottom of the half-length bust
Photograph of a nude Black woman kneeling in a large leather chair, head turned towards the viewer
Photograph of a nude Black woman laying down on her side, back towards the viewer, in a sparse room in front of a hot water radiator
Force of Labor
DESIDERIO LAGRANGE (French-Mexican, 1849-1926), [Wet Nurse of African Descent and White Infant], mid-to-late 19th century, cabinet card, 4 1/4 x 6 1/2 in. (10.8 x 16.51 cm), Museum Purchase, Gridley W. Tarbell II Fund, 2020.22.1. Artwork in the public domain.
PHEBE LORD UPHAM (MRS. T.C. UPHAM (American, 1804-1882), Narrative of Phebe Ann Jacobs, or, “Happy Phebe” / by Mrs. T.C. Upham, Imprint: New York: American Tract Society, [185-?], book; 8 p.; 18 cm, 7 1/16 in. (18 cm), Courtesy the George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, pg. 1
JOHN CATHERWOOD (American), [Squirming White Child and Black Child Nanny, Winchester, Kentucky], 19th century, sixth plate daguerreotype, 3 ¼ x 2 ¾ in. (8.26 x 6.99 cm), Private collection. Artwork in the public domain.
BALL, BLACK, & COMPANY (American, 1851-1874), Thimble belonging to Phebe Ann Jacobs (formerly enslaved to Maria Wheelock; servant to the Allen family), 19th century, silver, Courtesy the George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, William Allen Family Papers, Bowdoin College Library. Artwork in the public domain.
AARON SISKIND (American, 1903–1991), Untitled, from Harlem Document, 1939, gelatin silver print, 9 7/16 in. x 7 7/16 in. (24 cm. x 18.9 cm.), Museum Purchase, 1988.10. Artwork published under fair use.
ARTHUR ROTHSTEIN (American, 1915–1985), Gee’s Bend, Alabama, 1937, printed later, gelatin silver print, 9 1/2 x 13 in. (24.13 x 33.02 cm), Gift, Daveed D. Frazier, MD Collection, 2017.48.14. Artwork in the public domain.
JOHN B. WORTHAM (American, 1838-1889), [African American Woman (Nanny) & Three White Children], cabinet card, late 19th century, 4 1/4 x 6 1/2 in. (10.8 x 16.51 cm), Museum Purchase, Gridley W. Tarbell II Fund, 2020.22.3. Artwork in the public domain.
BENNY ANDREWS (American, 1930–2006), Mrs. Viola Andrews–My Mother, 1974, oil with fabric collage on canvas, 60 1/8 x 48 1/8 x 1 1/2 in. (152.72 x 122.24 x 3.81 cm), Gift of halley k harrisburg ’90 and Michael Rosenfeld, 2018.39. © 2021 Estate of Benny Andrews / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY, Courtesy Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY
JOHN B. WORTHAM (American, 1838-1889), [African American Woman (Nanny) & Three White Children], cabinet card, late 19th century, 4 1/4 x 6 1/2 in. (10.8 x 16.51 cm), Museum Purchase, Gridley W. Tarbell II Fund, 2020.22.2. Artwork in the public domain.
Documented Histories
FAITH RINGGOLD (American, born 1930), The Sunflower Quilting Bee at Arles, 1996, lithograph, 22 in. x 29 3/8 in. (55.88 cm x 74.61 cm), Gift of Julie L. McGee, Class of 1982, 2011.33.2. © 2021 Faith Ringgold / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Courtesy ACA Galleries, New York
ACCRA SHEPP (American, born 1962), Shadow, Occupying Wall Street, October 15, 2011, 2011–2012, gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 in. (50.8 x 40.64 cm), Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund, 2015.18.2. © Accra Shepp
DANNY LYON (American, born 1942), Fannie Lou Hamer, Sharecropper From a Family of Twenty Children, Evicted From Her Home For Applying to Register to Vote, Severely Beaten in the Winona Police Station, SNCC Field Secretary From Ruleville, and Future Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Candidate for Congress, Marches in the Cold Hattiesburg Rain, 1963, printed later, gelatin silver print, 14 x 11 in. (35.56 x 27.94 cm), Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Nicholas, 2015.50.21. © Danny Lyon/Magnum Photos
WHITFIELD LOVELL (American, born 1959), Kin XLVI (Follie), 2011, Conte crayon drawing on paper, shooting gallery target, 30 x 22 1/4 x 2 in. (76.2 x 56.52 x 5.08 cm), Museum Purchase, Greenacres Acquisition Fund and Collectors Collaborative, 2019.44. © Whitfield Lovell. Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery, New York
LATOYA RUBY FRAZIER (American, born 1982), Grandma Ruby and J.C. in Her Kitchen 2006, 2006, gelatin silver print, 15 3/8 x 19 1/4 in. (39.05 x 48.9 cm), Museum Purchase, Gridley W. Tarbell II Fund, 2019.3. © LaToya Ruby Frazier
DANNY LYON (American, born 1942), Arrested For Demonstrating In Americus, Georgia, Teenage Girls Are Kept In A Stockade In The Countryside Near Leesburg. Some Had Been In The Stockade For A Few Days, Others Had Been There For Three Weeks. They Have No Beds And No Working Sanitary Facilities. I Make Pictures Through The Broken Glass of the Barred Windows, 1963, printed later, gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in. (27.94 x 35.56 cm), Gift of Drs. Steven and Linda Lee, 2018.28.17. © Danny Lyon/Magnum Photos
ACCRA SHEPP (American, born 1962), Colette, Occupying Wall Street, November 5, 2011, 2011- 2012 gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 in. (50.8 x 40.64 cm), Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund, 2015.18.5. © Accra Shepp
Artistic Explorations
BARBARA DEWAYNE CHASE-RIBOUD (American, born 1939), Zanzibar #3, ca. 1972, bronze with silk (rope tassels), 12 1/2 in. x 13 1/2 in. x 13 1/2 in. (31.75 cm x 34.29 cm x 34.29 cm), Bequest of William H. Alexander, 2003.11.24. © Barbara Chase-Riboud
MICKALENE THOMAS (American, born 1971), Tell Me What You’re Thinking, 2016, chromogenic print on paper, 39 3/4 x 49 1/2 in. (100.97 x 125.73 cm), Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund, 2018.8. © 2021 Mickalene Thomas / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
MILDRED HOWARD (American, born 1945), Thirty-Eight Double Dee (from 10 x 10: Ten Women, Ten Prints, a serigraph portfolio), 1995, silkscreen on paper, 22 x 22 in. (55.88 x 55.88 cm), Archival Collection of Marion Boulton Stroud and Acadia Summer Arts Program, Mt. Desert Island, Maine. Gift from the Marion Boulton “Kippy” Stroud Foundation, 2018.10.8.4. © Courtesy the Artist and Anglim/Trimble, San Francisco. Digital reproduction by Sean Burrus
LESLIE HEWITT (American, born 1977), Riffs on Real Time (8 of 10), 2006–2009, c-print, 30 in. x 24 in. (76.2 cm x 60.96 cm), Museum Purchase, Collectors’ Collaborative and Funds Contributed by Isaac L. Lagnado, 2012.20. © Courtesy the artist and Perrotin
LORNA SIMPSON (American, born 1960), H.S., 1992, 2 dye diffusion color Polaroid prints, engraved on Plexiglas, 49 1/2 x 20 1/2 in. (125.73 x 52.07 cm), Collection of Alvin Hall. © Lorna Simpson. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
JA’TOVIA GARY (American, born 1984), An Ecstatic Experience, 2015, Film, 6 minutes, color, Museum Purchase, Greenacres Acquisition Fund in partnership with the New Media Arts Consortium, a collaboration of the art museums at Bowdoin College, Brandeis University, Colby College, Middlebury College, Mount Holyoke College, and Skidmore College, 2020.2. © Ja’Tovia Gary. Courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
HOWARDENA PINDELL (American, born 1943), Video Drawings: Tennis, 1975, chromogenic print 8 x 10 in. (20.32 x 25.4 cm), Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund, 2018.7. Courtesy the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York
KARA WALKER (American, born 1969), The Hi-Brids, gouache on paper, 9 1/16 x 12 3/8 in. (23.02 x 31.43 cm), Gift of Marion Boulton “Kippy” Stroud Foundation, 2020.39.4. © Kara Walker
ALISON SAAR (American, born 1956), Blue Plate Special, 1993, lithograph, etching and chine collé, 29 1/8 in. x 28 3/4 in. x 24 1/2 in. (73.98 cm x 73.03 cm x 62.23 cm), Anonymous Gift and Museum Purchase, Art Collections Purchase Fund, 1994.3. © Alison Saar. Courtesy of L.A. Louver, Venice, CA
PAULA WILSON (American, born 1975), Remodeled, 2007, woodcut, lithograph, collage on paper 19 1/2 x 25 1/2 in. (49.53 x 64.77 cm), Archival Collection of Marion Boulton Stroud and Acadia Summer Arts Program, Mt. Desert Island, Maine. Gift from the Marion Boulton “Kippy” Stroud Foundation, 2018.10.423. © Courtesy of the Artist. Digital reproduction by Sean Burrus
MARY LOVELACE O’NEAL (American, born 1942), Dark Days in the Abundant Blue Light of Paris (from 10 x 10: Ten Women, Ten Prints, a serigraph portfolio), 1995, silkscreen on paper, 22 x 22 in. (55.88 x 55.88 cm), Archival Collection of Marion Boulton Stroud and Acadia Summer Arts Program, Mt. Desert Island, Maine. Gift from the Marion Boulton “Kippy” Stroud Foundation, 2018.10.8.8. © Mary Lovelace O’Neal. Digital reproduction by Sean Burrus
KARA WALKER (American, born 1969), Quadroon Song, gouache on paper, 9 1/16 x 12 3/8 in. (23.02 x 31.43 cm), Gift of Marion Boulton “Kippy” Stroud Foundation, 2020.39.3. © Kara Walker
ALMA WOODSEY THOMAS (American, 1891–1978), Double Cherry Blossoms, 1973, acrylic on canvas, 60 in. x 40 1/8 in. (152.4 cm x 101.92 cm), Gift of halley k harrisburg, Class of 1990, and Michael Rosenfeld, 2003.28. Artwork in the public domain.
KARA WALKER (American, born 1969), African/American, 1998, linoleum cut on cream wove paper, 46 1/2 x 60 1/2 in. (118.11 x 153.67 cm), Collection of Alvin Hall. © Kara Walker
JULIE MEHRETU (American, born 1970), Myriads, Only By Dark, 2014, multi-color aquatint and spit-bite, 81 1/4 x 45 1/4 in. (206.38 x 114.94 cm), Colby College Museum of Art, The Lunder Collection. © Julie Mehretu. Courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery, New York
EMMA AMOS (American, 1937-2020), Pool Lady, 1980, etching, aquatint, and styrene stencil, 23 ¼ x 21 ¼ in. (59.06 x 53.98 cm), Museum Purchase, Barbara Cooney Porter Fund, 2021.13. © Emma Amos; Courtesy RYAN LEE Gallery, New York. Digital reproduction by Sean Burrus
CARRIE MAE WEEMS (American, born 1953), American Icons: Untitled (Salt and Pepper Shakers), 1988-89, silver gelatin print, 19 15/16 x 15 7/8 in. (50.64 x 40.32 cm), Archival Collection of Marion Boulton Stroud and Acadia Summer Arts Program, Mt. Desert Island, Maine. Gift from the Marion Boulton “Kippy” Stroud Foundation, 2018.10.329. © Carrie Mae Weems. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
KARA WALKER, American, born 1969, Crossover Artist, gouache on paper, 9 1/16 x 12 3/8 in. (23.02 x 31.43 cm), Gift of Marion Boulton “Kippy” Stroud Foundation, 2020.39.1. © Kara Walker
KARA WALKER (American, born 1969), Poor Baby, gouache on paper, 9 1/16 x 12 3/8 in. (23.02 x 31.43 cm), Gift of Marion Boulton “Kippy” Stroud Foundation, 2020.39.2. © Kara Walker
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