Release Date: February 7, 2007

African American History Month at the National Gallery of Art Includes Sculpture, Lectures, and an Online Tour

Augustus Saint-Gaudens, American, 1848 - 1907
Shaw Memorial, 1900, patinated plaster
U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Cornish, New Hampshire (On Loan)

Washington, DC—In celebration of African American History Month, the National Gallery of Art is spotlighting The Shaw Memorial, the 19th-century monumental Civil War monument that honors the famous Massachusetts 54th Regiment, before it goes off view temporarily in March 2007. The Gallery also is presenting lectures and offering an online tour of some of the more than 150 works of art by African Americans in the Gallery's collection.

THE SHAW MEMORIAL

The Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts 54th Regiment, also known as The Shaw Memorial, has been acclaimed as the greatest American sculpture of the 19th century. Created by the preeminent sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907), the monumental relief depicts Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the valiant members of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment—the first African American infantry unit from the North to fight for the Union during the Civil War—marching to battle. Among the soldiers were Frederick Douglass' sons Charles and Lewis. The Shaw Memorial, currently on view in the West Building, gallery 66, goes off view temporarily for Gallery renovations beginning March 1, 2007. To learn more, visit www.nga.gov/exhibitions/shawinfo.shtm.

THE MASSACHUSETTS 54th REGIMENT

Although nearly half the regiment fell and was defeated badly during the assault on Fort Wagner, near Charleston, South Carolina, the battle proved to be an event of powerful symbolic significance. It would take more than a decade of devotion by America's foremost sculptor to create a fitting memorial to the sacrifice of these brave men. More than a century after the war, the 54th Regiment remains the most famous African American military unit, due largely to the popularity of the movie "Glory," which recounts the story of the regiment prior to and including the attack on Fort Wagner.

LECTURES

On Sunday, February 18, at 2:00 p.m., in the East Building Auditorium, James Walvin, professor of history, University of York, United Kingdom, presents Remembering and Forgetting: Imagery and Its Role in the Slave Trade and Its Abolition. Walvin is one of the most prolific writers on the history of American slavery and is the author or editor of numerous books, including the soon-to-be-published The Trader, The Owner, The Slave (Jonathan Cape, UK).

On Monday, February 26, Ruth Fine, curator of special projects in modern art, National Gallery of Art, gives an illustrated lecture, Multiples as Unique Objects: Prints by David Driskell, at 12:10 p.m. and 1:10 p.m., in the East Building Small Auditorium. Driskell, who holds the title of Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Art at the University of Maryland, College Park, is also a well-known art historian, collector, and curator. In 2001, the University of Maryland established the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora.

Both lectures are free and open to the public.

ONLINE TOUR

The Gallery's collection of American art includes some 154 works by African Americans, including Romare Bearden, Willie Cole, Sam Gilliam, Barkley Leonnard Hendricks, Joshua Johnson, Jacob Lawrence, Edward L. Loper, Joseph Norman, Horace Pippin, Martin Puryear, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Alma Thomas, Bob Thompson, James Wells, and Charles Wilbert White. In recognition of African American History Month, the Gallery offers an online tour of a select number of these works on the Gallery's Web site. To begin the tour, click on www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/ggafamer/ggafamer-main1.html.

SPECIAL FEATURE ON ROMARE BEARDEN

For in-depth educational information about the career of Romare Bearden, click on http://www.nga.gov/feature/bearden/index.shtm. To access the many resources available to teachers and students, visit http://www.nga.gov/education/classroom/bearden/ and http://www.nga.gov/pdf/bearden-tchpk.pdf. Also available is a children's guide to learning about Romare Bearden (http://www.nga.gov/kids/zone/beardencg.pdf) that guides them through The Art of Romare Bearden, the exhibition that was on view at the Gallery January 14, 2003 through September 4, 2004.

General Information

The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are at all times free to the public. They are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, and are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov.

Visitors will be asked to present all carried items for inspection upon entering the East and West Buildings. Checkrooms are free of charge and located at each entrance. Luggage and other oversized bags must be presented at the 4th Street entrances to the East or West Building to permit x-ray screening and must be deposited in the checkrooms at those entrances. For the safety of visitors and the works of art, nothing may be carried into the Gallery on a visitor's back. Any bag or other items that cannot be carried reasonably and safely in some other manner must be left in the checkrooms. Items larger than 17 x 26 inches cannot be accepted by the Gallery or its checkrooms.

For additional press information please call or send inquiries to:

Press Office
National Gallery of Art
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Landover, MD 20785
phone: (202) 842-6353 e-mail: pressinfo@nga.gov

Deborah Ziska
Chief of Press and Public Information
(202) 842-6353
ds-ziska@nga.gov

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