African-American Art

Introduction, Online Catalog Searching

Note: research in the history of art requires the use of resources beyond the art collections; there are many important indexes and bibliographies, as well as online resources, throughout the UNC Libraries. Books not in the Sloane Art Library are designated by the abbreviations Davis, NCC, UL, etc.

UNC Libraries' online catalog can be searched by author, title, subject, keyword, and call number. Examples:
Author search: harris, michael
Title search: black art ancestral legacy (omit initial article)
Subject search: african-american art
Keyword search: african american artists
Keyword search: romare bearden
Browsing area: N6538

The primary LC Subject heading is African-American art, with subdivisions. If you need assistance searching for books, please ask the reference desk staff. To locate articles in magazines or journals, search the periodical index databases. See the "Indexes, bibliographies, and library catalogs" section of this guide.

Major Surveys, Handbooks, Studies, by date of publication

2003

Harris, Michael D. Colored Pictures: Race and Visual Representation. N8232.H37 2003 ART, UL, NCC, PARK. This important work traces the articulation of ideas through images from the 19th century to the present day.

2002

Powell, Richard J. Black Art: A Cultural History. NX164.B55 P69 2002 Art and UL, first edition in 1997 also in Art, UL and NCC. The scope of this text is international, but it is a very important survey for African-American artists as well. It includes biographies of more than 160 key artists and an excellent bibliography.

1998

Patton, Sharon. African-American Art. N6538.N5 P388 1998 Art and UL, and also NetLibrary online.

1995

Driskell, David C., ed. African American Visual Aesthetics: a Postmodernist View. N6538.N5 A347 1995. This collection of essays builds on the pioneering work of Locke, Herring and Porter. African-American art is discussed in the context of American art.

Hooks, Bell. Art on My Mind: Visual Politics. N6537.H585 A2 1995.

1994

Lewis, Samella. African American Art and Artists. N6538.N5 L38 2003, 1990 ART and UL. Revisions of her historical work which originally appeared in 1978 as Art: African American.

1993

Bearden, Romare. A History of African-American Artists: from 1792 to the Present. N6538.N5 B38 1993 ART, UL, NCC. An important survey by a major African-American artist.

1983

Thompson, Robert Farris. Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro-American Art and Philosophy. E29.N3 T48 1983, 1984 ART, DAVIS, UL. A seminal work surveying the persistent presence of African art in America.

1978

Vlach, John M. The Afro-American Tradition in Decorative Arts. N6538.N5 V57 1978 and 1990. ART, DAVIS, UL, SFC. Originally published to accompany a major exhibition, this is a pioneering work on folk traditions. Vlach is the author of other important works on African-American architecture.

1973

Fine, Elsa Honig. The Afro-American Artist: a Search for Identity. N6538.N5F56. ART and UL. This well-illustrated historical survey from the colonial period forward, includes extensive notes and bibliography.

1971

Atkinson, J. Edward. Black Dimensions in Contemporary American Art. N6538.N5A8. ART, DAVIS. A visual survey of 50 artists, with short introductory essays by Edward Spriggs, then Director of the Studio Museum in Harlem, and David Driskell.

1960

Dover, Cedric. American Negro Art. N6538.N5 D6 1960. ART, DAVIS, UL. A heavily illustrated survey from the colonial period to the 20th century. Artist and general index, selected portraits of artists, and bibliography. An important contribution following in the footsteps of Locke and Porter.

1943

Porter, James A. Modern Negro Art. N6538.N5P6 1992 ART, DAVIS, NCC, UL (original edition 1943). By the first African-American art historian, the "father of Black art history," this is the classic work on the subject, the "first to denote and define the African impulse in the visual arts in the U.S." Porter also arranged the first exhibition of contemporary African art in the U.S. (1951, Howard University). David Driskell's introduction to the 1992 edition is an important review of the development of African-American art history. There is also a biography/exhibition of Porter, James A. Porter, Artist and Art Historian : the Memory of the Legacy. N6537.P64 A4 1992 ART

1936

Locke, Alain. Negro Art: Past and Present. E185.82 .L74 ART, DAVIS. Locke was the "first major advocate, critic, patron, and writer on Afro-American art." His landmark work surveys the links between African-American art and the legacy of African art. For an excellent bibliography of Locke's publications see Note 18, p. 25 in Against the Odds, listed in this bibliography.

1912

Du Bois, W.E.B. The Negro Artisan. E185.5 .A88 (1902) and The Negro American Artisan (1912) DAVIS, NCC, RBC. Du Bois' huge body of work includes this important title, probably the first survey of African-American art. Includes bibliography (See also the W.E.B. Du Bois site in Internet Resources.)

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Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

Grove Dictionary of Art online Print edition ART REF N31 .D5 1996. The most important encyclopedia for art historical research.

See also:
African-American Mosaic: a Library of Congress Resource Guide for the Study of Black History and Culture. Z1361.N39 L47 1993. DAVIS, UL, MUSIC, LAW. See also the online version.

Encyclopedia of African History. DT20.E53 2005. DAVIS REF.

Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. E185.E54 1996, 2001. DAVIS REF, UL REF. This major 5-volume work includes entries on art collections in vol. 1, painting and sculpture in vol. 4, and many cross-references and biographies of figures such as James A. Porter.

Encyclopedia of African-American heritage. E185.A455 2000. DAVIS REF and UL REF, and NetLibrary online.

Encyclopedia of World Art. N31.E533 1968. ART REF, DAVIS REF, UL. The entry in Volume 1, "Afro-American Art" is dated but still useful for its map of the diffusion and origins of Afro-American art.

Gale Virtual Reference Library is a collection of 25 reference books and encyclopedias in electronic format. The titles cover a wide range of subjects, from the arts to medicine, and from multicultural studies to social science. Contains encyclopedia articles on African American topics.

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Biographical Reference Works
(* indicates highly recommended works)

African-American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945. NA736.A47 2003. ART REF.

Afro-American Artists: a Bio-Bibliographical Directory. N6538.N5 C42. ART REF. The first major biographical dictionary of African-American artists, covering the colonial period to 1973. Includes exhibition catalogs; reviews; periodicals, including newspapers; and books. The A-Z entries include brief biographical information, lists of works and exhibitions, collections and reference sources for each artist. An essential work.

The Black Artist in America: an Index to Reproductions. N6538.N5T46 1991. ART READY REF. Listing Black artists from the colonial period to the present, this source is useful as a biographical work; it cites reproductions that have appeared in books, periodicals and catalogs through 1990, including most media as well as folk art. Selective subject index, bibliography, list of institutions, audiovisual materials and exhibition catalogs.

*St. James Guide to Black Artists. N40.S78 1997. ART REF. Includes biographical information on nearly 400 black artists worldwide, but mostly American, including some from the 19th century. Includes biographical information, exhibition record and museum holdings, and bibliography. A very important and useful work published in conjunction with the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

250 years of Afro-American Art: an Annotated Bibliography. N6538.N5 I38 1981. ART REF, DAVIS REF. A comprehensive work for that date, including 3900 artists covering three centuries. Generally, photographers, architects and designers are excluded. Basic, Artist, and Subject (topical and organizational) bibliographies, with appendices on anonymous artists and artist groups.
See cd-rom, *African-American Artists On Disc for an update to this bibliography.

*Women Artists of Color: a Bio-critical Sourcebook to 20th Century Artists in the Americas N8354.W656 1999. ART REF. An excellent resource which includes African-American artists as well as Latino, Asian Pacific and Native American. Biographical essay and exhibition, collection lists and bibliography for about 25 artists.

Other Biographical Works:

African-American Architects in Current Practice. NA738.N5 A45 1991. ART REF. Profiles 31 practicing architects, with a chronology of African-American architects 1868-1991, a map of the 810 practicing architects in the U.S., a list of organizations and short essays on the African-American architectural experience in America.

African American Theater Buildings: An Illustrated Historical Directory, 1900-1955. PN2270.A35 S58 2003. DAVIS REF.

Afro-American Folk Art and Crafts. NK839.3.A35 A35 1986 DAVIS, UL. Covers quilters, sculptors, instrument-makers, basket makers, builders, blacksmiths and potters from the colonial period. A lengthy bibliography, subject guide, filmography, and important essays such as Robert Farris Thompson's 1969 essay on African influences.

Black Artists on Art. N6538.N5L4, 1969, 1976. ART REF, DAVIS. This 2-volume work by Samella Lewis is an illustrated survey of several hundred contemporary African-American artists and Black artists working in the U.S. Includes artists' statements and brief biographical entries at the end of the volumes.

Black Photographers, 1840-1940: a Bio-Bibliography. TR139.W55 1985. ART REF, DAVIS REF.
and
An Illustrated Bio-Bibliography of Black Photographers, 1940-1988. TR139.W55 1989. DAVIS REF. Deborah Willis' groundbreaking companion volumes are heavily illustrated, with excellent bibliographies and exhibition chronologies. Short biographical entries include exhibitions and collections in which works are included, as well as a selected bibliography.

Directory of People of Color in the Visual Arts. N6537.5.D57 1993. ART REF. 759 artists, art historians, critics and arts administrators are listed, with indexes by state, ethnicity and discipline.

Folk Artists Biographical Index. NK805.F63 1987. ART REF. This is an important source for all folk artists, a large percentage of whom have been African-American; ethnicity is indicated in each artist entry.

Free Within Ourselves: African-American Artists in the Collection of the National Museum of American Art. N6538.N5 P44 1992. ART REF. While not a biographical work per se, this serves as a reference work, a cross-section of 31 artists from one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of African-American art (including the work of self-taught artists) from the colonial to contemporary period. Many illustrations, excellent bibliography of archival resources, books, exhibition catalogs, and articles, and a list of the African-American artists represented in the NMAA (105 as of 1992) which are searchable online (see Smithsonian's Inventory of American Painting).

Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century American Folk Art and Artists. NK808.R6 1990. ART REF. Black artists comprise a significant percentage of the total number of folk artists, and the Museum has held numerous exhibitions of African-American artists. An A-Z listing, with biographical information, exhibition lists, bibliography, list of public collections, and an index interspersed with photos of some of the 255 artists listed.

Outsider, Self Taught, and Folk Art Annotated Bibliography: Publications and Films of the 20th Century. N7432.5.A78 S455 2002. ART REF. See also this writer's other work: Self Taught, Outsider, and Folk Art: A Guide to American Artists, locations and resources NK805 .S46 2000. ART REF and NCC.

Twentieth-Century African-American Writers and Artists. NX512.3.A35 H43 1991. ART REF, DAVIS REF. An A-Z work which includes about 80 "prominent" painters and sculptors (i.e. those who have exhibited in major museums). Summary of artist's life, short critical note, exhibition and collections list and selected bibliography.

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Indexes, E-Journals, Image Databases, Bibliographies, and Library Catalogs

Online indexes and full-text databases are accessible from the Libraries main page; go to "Article Databases and More" section;) consult the African American Studies subsection as well.

African-American Artists on Disc Comprehensive cd-rom resource produced by Lynn Igoe. Available only on the Art Library's workstation.

Art Full Text (1984-present) Indexes about 300 journals in the visual arts; covering topics from architecture to video

Art Index Retrospective (1929-1984) The electronic version of the original Art Index, this indexes art journals from 1929-1984.

ARTstor Provides curated collections of art images and associated data for noncommercial and scholarly, non-profit educational use.

Black Thought and Culture Provides the full text of nonfiction writings by major black leaders.

BHA: Bibliography of the History of Art. The major scholarly resource for the history of art.

CAMIO offers rights-cleared, high-quality art images for class projects, art history and studio art programs, course Web sites, lectures, presentations, and research resources.

Ethnic Newswatch Full-text database of the newspapers of the ethnic and minority press.

International Index to Black Periodicals Full Text Full text coverage of 40 core black studies journals, and more.

Also consult the large general databases which often have full-text, such as Academic Search Premier and Expanded Academic ASAP

Bibliographies in Print:

African-American Visual Artists: an Annotated Bibliography of Educational Resource Materials. N6538.N5 F79 2001. ART REF.

African Americans and the Visual Arts: a Resource Guide to Books, Articles, and Dissertations, 1900-1990. N6538.N5S75 1990. DAVIS. A basic, un-annotated, bibliography from a wide range of sources.

Arts in America: a Bibliography. Z5961.U5 A77. ART REF, DAVIS REF. The major, though dated, bibliography for American art. Includes bibliographies, collections and exhibition catalogs, a list of serials and periodicals, index by medium, etc. Uses term Blacks, with numerous sub-headings. (Also uses Afro-Americans but fewer citations under that heading. See the Index volume (4).

A Biographical History of African-American Artists, A-Z. N6538.N5 M3 2001 ART REF.

Black Artists in the United States: an Annotated Bibliography of Books, Articles, and Dissertations on Black Artists, 1779-1979. Z5956.A47 D38. ART and DAVIS. The annotated entries also include general periodicals such as Ebony, Encore, The Messenger, Afro-American Woman's Journal, etc. Includes an index.

Complete Annotated Resource Guide to Black American Art: Books, Doctoral Dissertations, Exhibition Catalogs, Periodicals, Films, Slides, Large Prints, Speakers, Filmstrips, Video Tapes, Black Museums, Art Galleries.... Z5961.N4 H64. ART and UL REF. Comprehensive but dated; useful for the many citations of exhibitions without catalogs, but only ephemeral checklists, etc. (list by organization). Also a helpful chronology from 1875 to 1980, of books, films, exhibitions, etc.

Ethnoarts Index Supplemental Publication: African Art: Five-year Cumulative Bibliography, mid-1983 through 1988. Z5961.S85 B87 1990. See subject index under African Diaspora. Indexes books, articles, chapters, conference papers, theses, dissertations, exhibition reviews, and auction catalogs.

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Collection and Exhibition Catalogs: a selection

(note: exhibitions on individual artists are not included here)

African-American Artists, 1880-1987: Selections from the Evans-Tibbs Collection. N6538.N5 M35 1989. One of the premier collections and archives of African-American artists' work in the U.S., the Evans-Tibbs Collection is located in Washington, DC.

African-American Art: 20th Century Masterworks. N6538.N5 A2534 1997-- An ongoing gallery series

African-American artists, 1929-1945: Prints, Drawings, and Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. N6538.N5 M47 2003.

African American Masters: Highlights from the Smithsonian. N6538.N5 E84 2003.

Africobra: the First Twenty Years. N6538.N5 A3 1990. Founded in the '60s, Africobra was a political movement with a black ideology.

Afro-American Collection, Fisk University. N6538.N5 V36 1976. The collections at Fisk, including many African objects brought back by missionaries, were begun in the 19th century. The Harmon Foundation gave Fisk approximately 400 works of art in 1968. David Driskell, a former director, provides an essay in this catalog of 63 artists. Selected bibliography.

Against the Odds: African-American Artists and the Harmon Foundation. N6538.N5 R49 1989. The Foundation provided support to African-American artists beginning in the '30s. In the late '60s, its collections were dispersed among Fisk and Hampton Universities, the National Museum of American Art, and the National Portrait Gallery. This catalog includes an essay on early exhibitions of African-American art, and the Foundation's early activities. Biographical entries on the artists, and the exhibition record of the Foundation.

Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s-40s by African-American Artists: from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams. NE539.3.A35 A466 1992

Baking in the Sun: Visionary Images from the South: Selections from the Collection of Sylvia Warren Lowe. NX 425.B354 1987. This catalog includes 16 'outsider' artists, both Black and White, 180 works of art; and a chapter on Africanisms in Afro-American visionary art.

Barnett-Aden Collection. SI 1.2:B 26. DAVIS REF Federal Documents. Founded in 1943 by James V. Herring and Alonzo J. Aden of Howard University, this gallery welcomed artists of every race. The catalog of this rich collection includes a brief survey of African-American art of the 19th and 20th centuries, and is heavily illustrated (120 ills.); biographies of the artists.

Bearing Witness: Contemporary Works by African American Women Artists. N6538.N5 B43 1996. ART and UL.

Black Art Ancestral Legacy: the African Impulse in African-American Art. N6538.N5 B525 1989. ART and UL. An essential work, a major exhibition catalog with scholarly essays. Forty-nine artists are represented, with substantial biographical entries and photos of the artists.

Black Folk Art in America, 1930-1980. N6538 .N5 L58. ART and UL. Another major exhibition.

Black Male: Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary American Art. NX652.A37 G65 1994. An exhibition at the Whitney Museum of Art which generated some controversy. Includes essays by a number of different writers, including bell hooks.

Black Romantic: the Figurative Impulse in Contemporary African-American art. ND238.N5 B53 2002. A key exhibition at the Studio Museum in Harlem.

Blues Aesthetic: Black Culture and Modernism. NX512.3.A35 P68 1989

Caribbean Festival Arts. GT4823.N85 1988. DAVIS FOLIO

Celebration and Vision: the Hewitt Collection of African-American Art. N6538.N5 S55 1999

A Century of African American Art: the Paul R. Jones Collection. N6538.N5 C45 2004

Committed to the Image: Contemporary Black photographers. TR645.N532 B7 2001

The Countee Cullen Art Collection from the Hampton University Museum. N6538 .Z543 1987

Exhibition of African Negro Art [Howard University, 1953]. (cat. not held at UNC) Curated by James V. Herring, who founded the Art Department at Howard, the first such program in a predominantly black institution of higher learning; in the '30s, Howard was the center for African-American art.

Exhibition of Productions by Negro Artists [Harmon Foundation]. N6538.N5 E96 1933. ART CAGE

Explorations in the City of Light: African-American Artists in Paris, 1945-1965. N6848 .E89 1996

Face of the Gods: Art and Altars of Africa and the African Americas. NK1085.75.T48 1993. An essential exhibition catalog by Robert Farris Thompson.

Freestyle. N6538.N5 F724 2001. An exhibition at the Studio Museum in Harlem.

Harmon and Harriet Kelley Collection of African American Art. N6538.N5 K45 1994. A fine private collection assembled in just the space of a decade. Includes both trained and folk artists, 124 pieces/70 artists in this exhibition.

Hidden Heritage: Afro-American Art, 1800-1950. N6538.N5 D73 1985. An exhibition curated by David Driskell to include artists not in the 1976 "Two Centuries" exhibition.

In the Spirit of Resistance: African-American Modernists and the Mexican Muralist School. N6538.N5 L35 1996

Narratives of African American Art and Identity: the David C. Driskell Collection. N6538.N5 N27 1998

Negro Artists: an Illustrated Review of Their Achievements. N6538.N5 H34 1935 ART, DAVIS, RBC. Another historic exhibition of the Harmon Foundation.

Next Generation: Southern Black Aesthetic. N6538.N5 N497 1990 ART, NCC, UL. An exhibition at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, NC, which often features the work of African-American artists.

The Other Side of Color: African American Art in the Collection of Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr. N6538.N5 D735 2001. ART Oversize

Passages: Contemporary Art in Transition. N6537.5 .P33 2000. Includes the works of a number of artists, including David Hammons and Alison Saar.

Re/righting History: Counter Narratives by Contemporary African-American Artists. N6538.N5 B56 1999

Something All Our Own: The Grant Hill Collection of African American Art N6538.N5 H55 2004 ART; FCBo H646s North Carolina Collection

Spaces and Places: A Photographic Exhibit Conveying the Contributions, Aspirations, and Aesthetic Values of Afro-Americans as Reflected in Architecture. NA738.N5 D69 1982

The Studio Museum in Harlem: 25 years of African-American Art. N6538.N5 S77 1994

Successions: Prints by African American Artists from the Jean and Robert Steele Collection. NE539.3.A35 S83 2002

To Conserve a Legacy : American Art from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. N6538.N5 P68 1999 ART and NCC. An exhibition of important work, curated by Richard Powell.

Transatlantic Dialogue: Contemporary Art in and Out of Africa. N7380.5 .H37 1999. ART, NCC, UL. An former exhibition at the Ackland Art Museum.

Two Centuries of Black American Art. N6538.N5 D74 1976. ART, NCC, UL. A landmark exhibition, the largest of its type at the time, of 63 artists from numerous public and private collections. Curated by David Driskell.

United American Healthcare Corporation Collection. N6538 .N5 U44 1993. Established in 1992, this Detroit collection includes 20th century works by African-American artists; the catalog features 10 artists from the collection, with 72 works of art.

Walter O. Evans Collection of African American Art. N6538.N5 B37 1999. ART, UL. A major private collection of 19th and 20th century African-American art.

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Periodicals

A subject search for "african-americans-- periodicals" will yield additional titles.
Also see International Index of Black Periodicals online for important full-text journals, and the "African-American Studies" subject list on the E-journals Finder page.

American Visions (also in print, in Davis and UL) often includes articles on artists

Black American Literature Forum

Black Arts Annual (1987-90 only, DAVIS)

Callaloo (also in print, DAVIS)

Ijele a journal for arts of Africa but also the African Diaspora

International Review of African-American Art (print edition in Art Library) the major journal for African-American art. Full text available online in International Index to Black Periodicals Full Text

Journal of Black Studies (also in print, Davis)

Third Text (also in print, ART) a journal of arts of the Third World but sometimes includes article on African-American artists

Transition (also in print, DAVIS and DAVIS FOLIO)

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Special Topics: a brief selection of additional works

Artists Books

Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. Animal Proverbs of the Grebo People of Liberia. N7433.4.K46 A422 1992 ART, Artist Books Collection.

Danny Tisdale. Danny, the Last African American in the 22nd century. N7433.4.T58 D355 1994 ART, Artists Books Collection.

Conceptual Art

Double Conciousness: Black Conceptual Art Since 1970. N6538.N5 D588 2005 ART

Craft/Folk

Afro-American Folk Art and Crafts. NK839.3.A35 A35 1983 DAVIS and UL. Edited by William Ferris, director of the Center for the Study of the American South at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Souls Grown Deep: African American Vernacular Art. N6538.N5 S69 2000

Testimony: Vernacular Art of the African-American South: The Ronald and June Shelp Collection. N6538.N5 T425 2001

Uncommon Beauty in Common Objects: the Legacy of African-American Craft Art. NK839.3.A35U53 1993. Includes the work of contemporary artists, with an essay on the links with African traditions. Portraits of artists, bibliography.

Diaspora

Look in online catalog using LC subject heading: African diaspora

Harlem Renaissance

(Subject Heading: harlem renaissance)

Challenge of the Modern: African-American Artists 1925-1945. N6538.N5 C43 2003 ART

Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance. PS153.N5 A24 2003 DAVIS

Harlem on My Mind. F128.68.H3 S3 1995 DAVIS. The landmark 1968 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; this edition includes a foreword by Henry Louis Gates. The original edition is in the ART CAGE.

Harlem Renaissance: an Annotated Bibliography and Commentary. Z5956.A47 P47 1982 DAVIS REF, UL REF

The Harlem Renaissance: An Annotated Reference Guide for Student Research. NX512.3.A35 R64 1998 DAVIS REF and MUSIC; also available online at NetLibrary.

The Harlem Renaissance: an Historical Dictionary for the Era. NX511.N4H37 1984 DAVIS REF and UL. An A-Z dictionary of major figures, organizations and topics of this flowering of Black arts and letters during the 20s and 30s. Includes useful appendices, essential research on the HR, some illustrations, a chronology, and references at end of each entry.

Harlem Renaissance and the Negritude Movement. PQ3897 .A56 1982a DAVIS

Harlem Renaissance: Art of Black America. N6538.N5 H286 1987 ART, UL. This exhibition was held at the Studio Museum of Harlem, one of the premier venues for African-American art. Includes chronologies and a selected bibliography.

Rhapsodies in Black: Art of the Harlem Renaissance. N6538.N5 R56 1997. An exhibition, curated by Richard Powell and David Bailey.

Illustration/Children's Books

Black Authors and Illustrators of Books for Children: a Biographical Dictionary. 3rd ed. PN1009.A1 R63 1999 SILS

Brown Gold: Milestones of African-American Children's Picture Books Picture Books, 1845-2002. PS153.N5 M2528 2004 DAVIS

"Negritude" Literary Movement

(see also LC subject heading African-Americans-Race Identity)

Negritude: an Annotated Bibliography. Z6520.N44 M53 1988 DAVIS

Representations of African-Americans

The Art of Exclusion: Representing Blacks in the Nineteenth Century. N8232.B57 1990

The Artist Portrait Series: Images of Contemporary African American Artists. TR681.A7 L635 2001 ART

The Black Experience (American Historical Images on File) E185.B573 1990 DAVIS REF

Colored Pictures: Race and Visual Representation. N8232.H37 2003 ART, NCC. Important work by Michael Harris.

Facing History: the Black Image in American Art, 1710-1940. N8232.M44 1990 ART, UL. An important exhibition curated by the late Guy McElroy.

Image of the Black in Western Art. Folio N8232.I46 ART REF, UL REF (see also the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Studies webpage for a description of the project in the "Research" section.) An essential resource. Also available via ARTstor.

Images of Blacks in American Culture: a Reference Guide to Information Sources. NX652.A37 I43 1988 DAVIS REF, UL REF. This major work on popular culture includes an important essay on imagery by David Driskell, as well as a useful chapter on resources and collections.

Portrayal of the Negro in American Painting [exhibition at Bowdoin College Museum of Art, 1964] N8323.B6. The first major exhibition of Blacks in American art, from the 18th century to the 20th, arranged chronologically. Included the 'first known American painting in which a Negro is portrayed.'

A Stronger Soul Within a Finer Frame: Portraying African-Americans in the Black Renaissance. NX512.3.A35 W75 1990

Women Artists

Bontemps. "African-American Women Artists: An Historical Perspective," Sage: a Scholarly Journal on Black Women. Vol. IV, No. 1 (Spring 1987) pp. 17-23. HQ1101.S23 DAVIS

Creating Their Own Image: The History of African-American Women Artists. N6538.N5 F27 2005 ART and STONE CENTER

Gumbo Ya-Ya: Anthology of Contemporary African-American Women Artists. N6538.N5 G85 1995. 172 artists listed, as well as a bio-bibliography and introductory survey of early artists.

Art of Black American Women: Works of Twenty-Four Artists of the Twentieth Century. N6538.N5 H45 1993

Black Women in America. E185.86 .B542 1993 DAVIS REF, UL REF

Facts on File Encyclopedia of Black Women in America E185.96.F2 1997 DAVIS REF

Notable Black American Women. E185.96.N682 1992 DAVIS REF, UL REF

Voices of the Dream : African-American Women Speak. PN6081.3.V35 1995 DAVIS. Quotations illustrated with the work of African-American artists.

Women Designers in the U.S.A, 1900-2000: Diversity and Difference. NK1174.W66 2000

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Other Reference Works

Additional useful print and electronic resources in Davis and the UL, where reference librarians will also be available to assist you.

African-American Almanac. E185 P55 DAVIS REF, UL REF

African-American Traditions in Song, Sermon, Tale, and Dance, 1600s-1920: an Annotated Bibliography of Literature, Collections, and Artworks. Z5956.A47 S68 1990 DAVIS REF

Afro-American Folk Culture: an Annotated Bibliography of Materials from North, Central, and South America, and the West Indies. Folio Z5984.A44 S95 DAVIS REF, UL REF

Afro-American Reference: an Annotated Bibliography of Selected Resources. Z1361.N39 D37 1985 DAVIS REF, UL REF

Black Media in America: a Resource Guide. Z5633.A37 H55 1984 DAVIS REF

Black Women in America: an Historical Encyclopedia. E185.86.B542 1993 DAVIS REF, UL REF

Blacks in the Humanities, 1750-1984: a Selected, Annotated Bibliography. Z1361.N39 J69 1986 DAVIS REF, UL REF

Catalog of Folklore, Folklife, and Folk Songs [Cleveland Public Library]. Z5985.C5 1978 DAVIS REF

Guide to Scholarly Journals in Black Studies. Z1361.N39 G83 DAVIS REF

Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. F209.E53 1989. DAVIS REF, UL REF, NCC. Chapters on Black Life: African Influences; Art and Architecture; and Folklife.

Folklore from Africa to the United States: an Annotated Bibliography. DAVIS REF

Index to Afro-American Reference Resources. Z1361.N39 S77 1988 DAVIS REF, UL REF

Index to Black Periodicals. Z1361.N39 I386 DAVIS REF see also Black Studies on disc DAVIS REF

Schomburg Center for Research and Black Culture. Bibliographic Guide to Black Studies. Z1361.N39 B5 DAVIS REF

_______________. Dictionary Catalog of the Schomburg Collection. Z1361.N39 N4 DAVIS REF See also the New York Public Library Catalog online and the Schomburg website.

______________. Index to the Schomburg Center Clipping File. Z1361.N39 S373 1986 DAVIS REF

_______________. Schomburg Center Guide to Black Literature from the Eighteenth Century to the Present. PN841.V36 1996 DAVIS REF, UL REF

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Internet Resources: a brief selection

Amistad Research Center
An independent archive, library and museum of African-American history and culture. Includes significant African-American art holdings (Aaron Douglas and AFAC Collections) of over 400 works of artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The African-American Mosaic
A sampler drawn from the Library of Congress' rich resources: books, periodicals, prints, photographs, music, film, and sound.

Artnoir Showcase
On online journal which features artists of the Diaspora.

H-Net and H-AfrArts Home Page
"African expressive culture" discussion and resources list, co-sponsored by H-Net and the African Studies Association.

Hampton University Museum
The oldest African-American museum, located at a major historically black university. International Review of African-American Art (see journals list) is published here.

Museum of African-American History
The homepage of Detroit's Museum of African-American History, the world's largest Black historical and cultural museum.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
A major collection of materials related to Africa and African-Americans, including art collections, prints and photographs, film and recordings, as well as books and manuscripts.

SIRIS (Smithsonian Institution) Resarch Information System
The Smithsonian's resources include the National Museum of African Art, the National Museum of American Art and the National Portrait Gallery, all of which include African-American artists; also includes the Archives of American Art.

Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History at UNC

Studio Museum in Harlem

UKY World-Wide Web Resources-African-American Sites
A good example of a university site, with extensive links, and many art-related sites. Useful feature is new sites at top of list.

Universal Black Pages This page is a quite comprehensive listing of Internet resources by, and, or about peoples of African descent. See the Art section.

W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Studies The oldest research center for the study of African Americans in the United States, located at Harvard University. Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the director. See also, Image of the Black in Western Art via ARTstor.

This guide to resources in UNC Libraries provides a brief overview. Additional rich sources will be exhibition catalogs or monographs on individual topics or artists. Be sure to consult bibliographies in each work you use, remembering that foreign language works (e.g. French for Paris-African-American connections) may yield substantial information (plates, bibliographies, chronologies, etc.) even if you do not read the language in which the book is written.

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