Romare Bearden

Bearden, Romare Howard
American, 1911 - 1988

As a young child, Romare Bearden migrated with his family from North Carolina to New York as part of the Great Migration. His mother, Bessye, was a social activist and the New York editor for the Chicago Defender newspaper. After completing an undergraduate degree in education at New York University, Bearden studied drawing and painting under George Grosz at the Art Students League in New York. He also began publishing political cartoons for the National Urban League’s Opportunity: Journal of Negro Life, the NAACP’s magazine The Crisis, and the Baltimore Afro-American, before shifting focus more exclusively to painting and collage.

Bearden was a founding member of the New York–based African American artist collective Spiral (active 1963–1965), formed to discuss the role of the artist in the civil rights movement. His collages and photomontages from this period use found photographs and print media to engage broader visual culture references. They portray aspects of Black experience, including the Great Migration, jazz, blues, domestic life, and family.

In 1969 Bearden, along with artists Ernest Crichlow and Norman Lewis, founded the Cinque Gallery, dedicated to emerging African American artists. Bearden was also a founding member in 1970 of the Black Academy of Arts and Letters, an organization that promoted the cultural achievements of African Americans.

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This print shows an abstract crane or heron created with long, flowing lines. The bird is depicted with an elongated, curved neck and a long beak, and it is standing on one leg, facing the left, with a small fish-shaped object in its beak. There are loose, curved lines suggesting floral shapes beside the bird on the left. The bird is white, while the rest of the print, including the fish and flowers, is colored in a vibrant gradient of dark blue at the bottom to a greenish turquoise at the top.
Romare Bearden, Robert Blackburn, Limited Editions Club, Untitled from The Caribbean Poetry of Derek Walcott and the Art of Romare Bearden, 1983, color lithograph on Rives paper, Gift of Jane and Raphael Bernstein, 2002.115.1.2

Untitled from The Caribbean Poetry of Derek Walcott and the Art of Romare Bearden

Romare Bearden, Robert Blackburn, Limited Editions Club · 1983 · color lithograph on Rives paper ·  Accession ID  2002.115.1.2
This is the title page and an illustration, to our left, of the book “The Caribbean Poetry of Derek Walcott & The Art of Romare Bearden.” The illustration on the left-hand page shows a loosely sketched torso of a woman against a vivid yellow background. The woman tips her shoulders toward us and to our left, and her face looks down in profile over her lower shoulder. Her other arm is raised and extends off the top of the page, and she is cut off just below the hips by the bottom edge of the composition. Strokes of white paint form the curves of the right side of her body, delineating the breast, waist, and hip. Another white, curving line forms her other breast. Touches of dark brown indicate nipples, her belly button, and pubic area. The outlines of her right arm, to our left, is painted with strokes streaked with canary yellow, rust brown, and pine green. Her profile is painted with swipes of burgundy red, and a round area of mottled black and white could be her hair, cap, or scarf. A patch of caramel brown under her breast to our left is shaped like a human heart. The background behind her is also mostly canary yellow, but there is a vertical band of muted cobalt blue to our left and kelly green along the right edge. The title page, the right half of this image, is white with black letters. The title is handwritten in a mix of lower and upper case letters in an angular, cursive style. The edges of the other pages of the book and the binding are visible at the edges of this scan.
Romare Bearden, Derek Walcott, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, Inc., Limited Editions Club, The Caribbean Poetry of Derek Walcott and the Art of Romare Bearden, 1983, bound volume with offset lithograph reproductions, Gift of Jane and Raphael Bernstein, 2002.115.1.1

The Caribbean Poetry of Derek Walcott and the Art of Romare Bearden

Romare Bearden, Derek Walcott, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, Inc., Limited Editions Club · 1983 · bound volume with offset lithograph reproductions ·  Accession ID  2002.115.1.1
Pink lines cut horizontally across six musicians against a pink background in this stylized, horizontal screenprint. Three of the musicians have black-colored skin, two have brown skin, and one has skin shaded with muted yellow and gray. The largest musician is in the left third of the picture. He has a black-colored face with a brown triangular nose, and streaks of pale yellow suggest light or a sheen across his forehead, one cheek, and chin. He looks out at us and smiles as he clamps a cigarette between his teeth. He wears a periwinkle-blue suit jacket and rests his oversized, brown-colored hands on a piano keyboard. The two brown-skinned musicians play the saxophone and perhaps a clarinet to the right. One wears a parchment-white suit jacket and the other charcoal gray. The yellow and gray-shaded face floats between the keyboardist and the pair to the right. He may hold up an old-fashioned camera with a flash bulb. A man with dark gray and black skin sits at a drum set along the left edge of the sheet, and the sixth, whose face, hand, and trumpet are blocked in with areas of white and black, is near a red circle in the top left corner of the composition. The body parts, features, instruments, and clothing are fragmented and stylized, as if collaged. The pink streaks against the pink background suggest that the scene was created in strips and then laid down onto the background. Writing in graphite under the printed image reads “7/12 A/P” to the left and “Romare Bearden” to the right.
Romare Bearden, Untitled (Jazz II), 1980, screenprint on wove paper, Reba and Dave Williams Collection, Florian Carr Fund and Gift of the Print Research Foundation, 2008.115.11

Untitled (Jazz II)

Romare Bearden · 1980 · screenprint on wove paper ·  Accession ID  2008.115.11
This print depicts a scene with silhouetted people gathered along a shoreline, many looking towards a ship in the sea beyond them. The people on the shore are in a variety of poses, with some lounging on the grass, some speaking with one another, and some pointing towards the ship. They are mostly nude, although one wears a white dress and two have white cloths around their waists. The people have no detail beyond their silhouettes, and are depicted in shades of black, purple, and brown. Around them are a variety of leafy plants in shades of dark green, light green, and blue. Gray rock formations and green trees are visible to the left. The ship beyond them has several distant people rowing on the deck, and one person appears to be tied to the tall mast in front of a large white sail. The style of the artwork features bold shapes and flat colors.
Romare Bearden, Hugh MacKay’s Atelier 52, Sirens' Song, 1979, color screenprint on wove Lana paper, Purchased as the Gift of Richard A. Simms, 2013.142.3

Sirens' Song

Romare Bearden, Hugh MacKay’s Atelier 52 · 1979 · color screenprint on wove Lana paper ·  Accession ID  2013.142.3
A woman stands with her back to us to the right of a person with a man's body and a boar's head in this abstracted, horizontal color print. Both people have black skin, and the scene is created with flat areas of saturated color and stylized forms. The woman’s torso and arms are cobalt blue, and a white skirt wrapped around her waist is decorated with patches and streaks of pine green, black, bright orange, teal blue, and harvest gold. Her head is turned to our left in profile, and she wears a flat red cap. She has a white, cat-like eye and teal-colored whiskers around her mouth. Two yellow snakes twine around her raised right arm, which is bent at the elbow. She bows her head to look at a blue dog at her feet, while she reaches down with her green left hand to gently touch its head. The dog’s head is turned to our right in profile, and it has a white eye, a slash of yellow for its mouth, and wavy black tail. The man is on our left and his body faces us as his head turns to our right in profile. He has a long snout, upright ears, a yellow eye, and spikes suggesting bristling fur. His open mouth reveals white fangs. He wears an ocean-blue tunic with a white triangular decoration on the chest, and a white skirt with an abstract, dark orange decoration. He holds a spear in his right arm, on our left, and a black and blue shield in the other. The people stand before a blue structure with a roof lined with triangles. The right corner of the building has a bright green rectangle next to a violet-purple column. More geometric blue and black shapes and what appears to be a white column jut out from that side, to our right. Part of a purple building with a curved, denim-blue roof and yellow foundation is visible on the left. A bright blue rectangle placed high on the wall, presumably a window, has a green and gold object hanging below a white scalloped shape at the top. The scene takes place in a landscape under a bright blue sky with flat, lime-green ground on the left and a hill topped with rounded green trees to the right. Mint and dark green or ochre-yellow trees are scattered across the ground along the bottom of the composition. The ground is brown in the left half and blue in the right half. Birds in gray, white, and shades of blue wander on the green hill and through the trees at the bottom, or perch in their branches. The artist has written “65/125” in the lower left corner beneath the printed image, and signed in lower right, “Romare Bearden,” both in pencil.
Romare Bearden, Hugh MacKay’s Atelier 52, Circe Turns a Companion of Odysseus into a Swine, 1979, color screenprint on wove Lana paper, Purchased as the Gift of Richard A. Simms, 2013.142.2

Circe Turns a Companion of Odysseus into a Swine

Romare Bearden, Hugh MacKay’s Atelier 52 · 1979 · color screenprint on wove Lana paper ·  Accession ID  2013.142.2
The artwork features abstract shapes and bold lines, creating a vibrant, colorful scene. In the foreground, there are stylized figures near a body of water. A boat with a curved sail sits on the water, alongside abstract forms. The background is filled with geometric shapes that include palm trees and a structured skyline with domed and tower-like elements. The use of vivid colors and simplified forms gives the piece an abstract quality.
Romare Bearden, Hugh MacKay’s Atelier 52, Odysseus Leaves Nausicaa, 1979, color screenprint on wove Lana paper, Purchased as the Gift of Richard A. Simms, 2013.142.5

Odysseus Leaves Nausicaa

Romare Bearden, Hugh MacKay’s Atelier 52 · 1979 · color screenprint on wove Lana paper ·  Accession ID  2013.142.5
Printed with mostly geometric shapes in vibrant, flat colors, this stylized horizontal screenprint shows buildings lining a harbor across from us, with a sailboat entering the scene from our right. The top quarter of this print has a band of pale turquoise clouds against a vibrant cobalt-blue sky. The buildings on the shore across from us are mostly nickel or slate gray with black squares and rectangles for windows and doors. A few of the buildings are white and two are hot pink. One arched, sunshine yellow form at the center of the composition could be an opening or a domed roof. One gray building, in front of the yellow, has a band and roof picked out with glittery gold. Several palm trees grow atop the spring-green hills beyond the buildings. A band of caramel brown near the water could be a sandy beach. Lumpy brown forms could be rocks in the water near the shore. The waterway is celestial blue with a few bands in grape purple, light gray, spring green, and turquoise. Billowing white sails pull the boat into the image. A person silhouetted in black holds a shield and spear at the bow. Three long black sticks with white arrows at the end, perhaps more spears or paddles, protrude from the front of the ship, and the side is decorated with several shield-sized panels. The artist signed the paper in the margin under the bottom right corner of the printed image, "Romare Bearden," and numbered the lower left corner, "65/125."
Romare Bearden, Hugh MacKay’s Atelier 52, Home to Ithaca, 1979, color screenprint on wove Lana paper, Purchased as the Gift of Richard A. Simms, 2013.142.6

Home to Ithaca

Romare Bearden, Hugh MacKay’s Atelier 52 · 1979 · color screenprint on wove Lana paper ·  Accession ID  2013.142.6
This print shows a series of geometric shapes and lines creating an abstract cityscape along a blue waterway. In the background, there are jagged, flame-like orange and red shapes on the top of teal and gray buildings with towers and spires. In front of the buildings is an expanse of bright blue water, on top of which are boats with tall sails and undulating green lines suggesting waves. There are black figures that look like human silhouettes standing on a purple rectangle that crosses over the water. On the right of the print is an angular white horse with blue lines across its body. In the green sky is an orange circular shape.
Romare Bearden, Hugh MacKay’s Atelier 52, The Fall of Troy, 1979, color screenprint on wove Lana paper, Purchased as the Gift of Richard A. Simms, 2013.142.1

The Fall of Troy

Romare Bearden, Hugh MacKay’s Atelier 52 · 1979 · color screenprint on wove Lana paper ·  Accession ID  2013.142.1
Twenty animals, two people nearby, and a boat are created with stylized, angular, black silhouettes against an area of golden brown to represent land and vivid blue for sky and water in this nearly square screenprint. The shoreline angles from near the middle of the left edge of the print up and to the right. The animals lie or stand in the brown area, which takes up most of the picture. Some have horns, and they are different sizes. A tree with a brown trunk and emerald-green canopy is near the horizon, which comes three-quarters of the way up this composition, and three tufts of green plants grow along the bottom edge. To the left and near the water, each of the two people hold out a spear with one hand. They seem to face each other and jointly hold or touch an oblong object, perhaps a shield shown in profile. The person the right wears a white garment covering the chest to upper thighs. The boat is in the water to the left, and two black-colored forms there could be two more people wading near the shoreline. A thin strip of white separates the water from the same-colored sky above. A charcoal-gray cloud piles on the horizon to the left, and a buttercup-yellow sun rests like a bath bubble held in the hand to the right. The artist signed the lower margin beneath the printed image with “65/125” to the left and “Romare Bearden” to the right.
Romare Bearden, Hugh MacKay’s Atelier 52, Cattle of the Sun God, 1979, color screenprint on wove Lana paper, Purchased as the Gift of Richard A. Simms, 2013.142.4

Cattle of the Sun God

Romare Bearden, Hugh MacKay’s Atelier 52 · 1979 · color screenprint on wove Lana paper ·  Accession ID  2013.142.4
Twelve people sit and stand along a sidewalk in this abstracted, horizontal scene, which is drawn with black felt-tip pen on white paper. The people’s facial features, including almond-shaped eyes, wide noses and mouths, and their blocky bodies are drawn simply with single lines and no shading. Clusters of intersecting vertical and horizontal lines suggest brick buildings in the background and a stoop facing the street. Five heads peer through windows from the buildings. In the center, a bald man sits on the stoop, leaning forward with his hands crossed over his knees, while a cat sits nearby. To our left, a couple stands by a streetlamp, and the head and torso of a woman appears to emerge from an opening in the street. They all face the man at the center. To our right, another man wearing a cap and holding a cigarette leans against a fire hydrant. Beyond the man in the center stands a man with a moustache and curly hair who points to our right. A woman facing left in profile stands next to him. The artist signed the lower right corner, “Rom are bear den.”
Romare Bearden, The Street (Composition for Richard Wright), c. 1977, black felt-tip pen on wove paper, Gift of Werner H. and Sarah-Ann Kramarsky and Collectors Committee Fund, 2001.58.1

The Street (Composition for Richard Wright)

Romare Bearden · c. 1977 · black felt-tip pen on wove paper ·  Accession ID  2001.58.1

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The image features a person with their upper body visible and slightly turned to the side. Their face is tilted upwards, and their mouth is open wide, displaying their teeth. The person's facial features are partially obscured due to low light. Their hair is short, and they are wearing earrings. They are dressed in a dark halter-top that reveals their shoulders, and they have a pendant necklace. The rest of the image is dark with little visible detail.

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