#African American

Alma Thomas, Tiptoe Through the Tulips, 1969, acrylic on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Tiptoe Through the Tulips by Alma Thomas

The style of Alma Thomas has been compared to Byzantine mosaics and the Pointillism of Georges Seurat. However, it firmly belongs to the Washington...

James W Singer 30 November 2025

Women Artists

Tar Beach: Faith Ringgold’s Journey from Story Quilts to Picture Books

With the publication of Tar Beach in 1991, Faith Ringgold launched her career as a picture book author and illustrator. Her interest in picture books...

Guest Author 27 November 2025

Women Artists

Emma Amos: The Story of Postmodernist African-American Artist

Emma Amos (1937–2020) was a postmodernist artist whose thought-provoking works have left an indelible mark on the art world. Amos emerged as a...

Arianna Richetti 17 November 2025

Contemporary Art

Fabrics of Power and Sensation: An Introduction to Basil Kincaid

Basil Kincaid (b. 1986) is an American contemporary artist. His multimedia work showcases the potential of repurposed materials while reflecting on...

Iolanda Munck 10 November 2025

Harriet Powers Women Artists

Harriet Powers: A Black Female Folk Artist Who Regained Her Glory

For much of the 20th century, the work of Harriet Powers, an enslaved and later emancipated Black folk artist, was erased from the art historical...

Kristin Urban 10 November 2025

Women Artists

Augusta Savage: The Woman Who Defined 20th-Century Sculpture

Augusta Savage was a sculptress whose name is often missing from the list of illustrious Harlem Renaissance artists. Throughout her life, she merged...

Anastasia Tsaleza 3 November 2025

North American Art

Marian Anderson: Singer, Civil Rights Icon, and Muse for Washington, DC Art

In the midst of the Jim Crow era, Marian Anderson’s undeniable voice rocketed her to stardom and made her the subject of several enduring works of...

Theodore Carter 20 October 2025

Women Artists

Faith Ringgold: An American Icon

Faith Ringgold was an artist, educator, storyteller, activist, and a mother. Ringgold was also an American treasure whose artistic journey has...

Jennifer S. Musawwir 8 October 2025

History

Jacob Lawrence and the Great Migration

As a child of the Great Migration, Jacob Lawrence was well placed to undertake such a mammoth task in detailing the journey from the rural South that...

Wendy Gray 8 October 2025

North American Art

The Bright Age of African-American Art: Harlem Renaissance in the US

In the first quarter of the 20th century, the Harlem region of New York City witnessed an unprecedented surge in artistic production. Known as the...

Merve Parla 8 October 2025

Jean-Michel Basquiat at an exhibition of his work in 1988, Vrej Baghoomian Gallery, New York, NY, USA. Photograph vt Julio Donoso via The Guardian. Artist Stories

Like a Flame—Jean-Michel Basquiat in 5 Paintings

He started out a couch-surfing throwaway. One day, a painting of his would sell for the highest price ever for an American artist at a public...

Helen Jeffery 18 September 2025

North American Art

QUIZ: Do You Know Your Black American Artists?

Candy Bedworth 6 September 2025