Release Date: January 31, 2008

African American History Month at the National Gallery of Art Includes Major Collectors, a Top Soprano, Screening of Duke Ellington Film, and an Online Tour

Washington, DC—In recognition of African American History Month, the National Gallery of Art is offering a three-part illustrated lecture series on collecting African American art, a special weekday concert performance of music by African American composers, a rare screening of Duke Ellington at the White House, and an online tour of works in the Gallery’s collection by African American artists.

Special Lecture Series
The Collecting of African American Art

Scholars and major collectors of African American art will present three illustrated programs. All programs are held on Sundays at 2:00 p.m. in the East Building Auditorium, unless noted otherwise, and are free and open to the public. Seating is available on a first-come, first- seated basis. The East Building of the National Gallery of Art is located at Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW, on the National Mall.

The Collecting of African American Art I: Introduction
On February 10, Alvia Wardlaw, a leading expert on African American art and history, associate professor, Texas Southern University, and curator of modern and contemporary art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, will present the first of three illustrated programs on collecting African American art.

The Collecting of African American Art II/Reflections on Collecting
On February 17, Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, author of several important books on African American art and artists, and director, Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, will talk with Dr. Walter O. Evans, physician, community leader, and noted art collector from Savannah, Georgia. A significant part of Dr. Evans’ collection is at the Savannah College of Art and Design and he was a lender to the National Gallery of Art’s 2003 retrospective The Art of Romare Bearden.

Today, the Evans collection includes more than 200 works in all media by 19th-and 20th-century artists. Among these are the largest number of privately held works by 20th-century icons Romare Bearden and Jacob Lawrence. In the 1990s and in 2003, Dr. Evans was named by Art & Antiques magazine as one of the 100 top collectors in the country. He also formed lasting relationships with artists such as Bearden, Gwendolyn Brooks, Elizabeth Catlett, and Jacob Lawrence.

The Collecting of African American Art III/A Peculiar Destiny: The Mission of the Paul R. Jones Collection
On February 24, Amalia Amaki, artist, curator, and professor of art history, University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa will talk with Paul R. Jones, a former federal worker with ties to the civil rights movement who is committed to advancing the work of underexposed and emerging artists, as well as the work of better-known artists, such as Hale Woodruff and Charles White. A major part of Jones’ collection is housed at the University of Delaware.

Concert

On Wednesday, February 27, soprano Celeste Headlee, granddaughter of the renowned African American composer William Grant Still, long known as the "Dean of American Negro Composers," and pianist Danielle DeSwert will perform a concert of works by Still and other African American composers. They include Harry T. Burleigh, arranger and baritone soloist; Dr. David N. Baker, composer of both jazz and classical music and composer-in-residence for the 2007-2008 season for the Ritz Chamber Players of Jacksonville, Florida; and pianist Margaret Bonds. One of the first African-American composers and performers to gain recognition in the United States, Bonds is best remembered today for her frequent collaborations with Langston Hughes.

Film: Duke Ellington at the White House

The Gallery is offering a rare screening of Duke Ellington at the White House. The historical, 16 mm film shows Washington native Duke Ellington observing his 70th birthday at a White House party hosted by President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon. The 18-minute screenings are on February 5, 12, 19, and 26, at 12 noon, in the East Building Auditorium. Admission is free and seating is on a first come basis.

Online Resources
In further recognition of African American History Month, the Gallery is offering an online tour of a select number of works by Joshua Johnson, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Horace Pippin, Jacob Lawrence, Alma Thomas, Martin Puryear, Sam Gilliam, Bob Thompson, and Romare Bearden. To begin the online tour, click on www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/ggafamer/ggafamer-main1.html.
Special Online Features on Romare Bearden
In conjunction with the 2003 exhibition, The Art of Romare Bearden, a number of Web features and resources are available:

Career: http://www.nga.gov/feature/bearden/index.shtm
Education Resources: http://www.nga.gov/education/classroom/bearden/
Children’s Guide: http://www.nga.gov/kids/zone/beardencg.pdf)

Martin Puryear Retrospective

The National Gallery of Art will present the first retrospective of Martin Puryear’s work in more than 15 years from June 22 through September 28, 2008. Some 48 objects created between 1976 and 2007 include several made especially for the exhibition, which was organized by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, where it was on view last fall and winter. The show also travels to Fort Worth and San Francisco.

A native Washingtonian who has achieved international acclaim, Puryear (b. 1941) has created a distinctive body of sculpture that defies categorization. Serenely quiet and poetic, his work explores natural forms and materials, especially a wide variety of woods, and engages issues of history, culture, and identity. A master craftsman, he encountered these traditions as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone and as an art student in Stockholm.

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
2000B South Club Drive
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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