Extensive Collection of African American Art Featured at The Hyde Museum

The Harmon and Harriet Kelley Collection of African American Art: Works on Paper is a traveling exhibition celebrating African-American artists and their contributions to American art and culture. This exhibit is now on view at The Hyde Collection.

Curated from the extensive collection of Harmon and Harriet Kelley, this exhibition’s featured artists include Grafton Tyler Brown – the first documented professional graphic artist on the West Coast – contemporary printmaker Margo Humphrey, and internationally known figures Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Aaron Douglas, Jacob Lawrence, and Henry Ossawa Tanner. Presented by The Hyde Collection and organized by Landau Traveling Exhibitions of Los Angeles, the exhibition began on January 28, and is on view through April 23.

“It’s a very special collection of nearly 70 watercolors, pastels, drawings, and a variety of print media by leading African American artists,” said Derin Tanyol, The Hyde Collection’s Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art. “The show chronicles the lives of Black Americans through a series of representative themes: labor, landscape and cityscape, portraiture, community, and entertainment. The Kelleys’ curatorial vision focuses on uplifting, positive themes, although a small section of the show confronts racism and injustice. Sourced from one of the most celebrated private collections of African-American art, this exhibition is sure to provide visitors with a rich and thought-provoking experience.” 

This exhibition provides an opportunity for visitors to experience the master graphics of African-American art on a large scale. The majority of the works were produced during the Great Depression period of the 1930s and 40s; during this period, the Federal Arts Project – a relief effort to employ struggling artists as part of The New Deal – helped many artists continue to create throughout that difficult time.

Many works depict rural and urban settings in a bold Post-Cubist style, including scenes showing factory workers, dockworkers, farmers, bridge builders, and road-menders. By the 1950s, some African American artists began to favor Abstract Expressionism, choosing nonrepresentational content over traditional imagery; other artists, including Charles White, Jacob Lawrence, John Biggers, Claude Clark, and Elizabeth Catlett – all of whom are featured in this exhibition – defied this influence, and continued their figurative exploration of African-American themes.

The 1960s and early 70s gave birth to the politically-motivated and African-inspired art of the Civil Rights period – while African-Americans had always made valuable contributions to American art, they had yet to be truly recognized, due to the brutalities of slavery and the systemic racism of Jim Crow laws. Despite continued oppression, African-American artists continued to create works that would reflect their experiences; among the civil rights-themed works in this exhibition are a 1963 lithograph by Jacob Lawrence titled Two Rebels, and Elizabeth Catlett’s well-known print Malcolm X Speaks For Us from 1969.

More recent artists, such as Margo Humphrey, Alison Saar, Robert Colescott, Lionel Lofton, CharlesCriner, and self-taught artists Bert Long and Ike E. Morgan, bring a contemporary perspective to this extensive exhibition.

The Hyde Museum is located at 161 Warren Street in Glens Falls, NY. Hours of operation are Thursday through Sunday, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

General Admission is $12 for adults over the age of 18, $10 for Seniors (of age 60 and up), and free for Hyde Members, NARM (North American Reciprocal Museum Program) members, ESMRP (Empire State Museum Reciprocal Program) members, students (with ID or other form of proof), children 12 and under, and veterans and active-duty military and families.

For more information, please visit Hydecollection.org