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Home>Exhibitions>2022>Called to Create: Black Artists of the American South

Called to Create: Black Artists of the American South

Upcoming Exhibition

September 18, 2022 – March 26, 2023
East Building, Upper Level, West Bridge

For decades Thornton Dial, James “Son Ford” Thomas, Lonnie Holley, Mary T. Smith, Purvis Young, and many other Black artists in the South worked with little recognition, often using recycled materials as their art supplies and yards, porches, or boarded-up storefronts as their galleries. The women of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, made dazzling quilts from well-worn clothing or leftover scraps of fabric. Despite racism and other forms of discrimination, all of these artists drew on deep cultural and spiritual traditions to create some of the finest art of our time.

In 2020, the National Gallery acquired 40 sculptures, assemblages, paintings, reliefs, quilts, and drawings from the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, and several related gifts have recently entered the collection as well. Enjoy these inventive works, including nine Gee’s Bend quilts, and learn the remarkable stories of their making and makers.

Selected Works

Called to Create

Mary Lee Bendolph, Blocks and Strips, 2002, wool, cotton, corduroy, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons’ Permanent Fund and Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, 2020.28.1
Called to Create

Thornton Dial Jr., A Man Can Be a Star, 1988, tin, wood, carpet, sunglasses, and industrial sealing compound on wood, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons’ Permanent Fund and Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, 2020.28.11
Called to Create

Thornton Dial, Clothes Factory, 1995, mattress frame, rope, carpet, fabric, plastic, enamel, spray paint, industrial sealing compound on canvas mounted on wood, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons’ Permanent Fund and Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, 2020.28.33
Called to Create

Joe Light, Birdman Trainer, 1987, enamel on wood paneling, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons’ Permanent Fund and Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, 2020.28.37
Called to Create

Missouri Pettway, "Path through the Woods" (Quiltmaker's Name), 1971, polyester knit, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons’ Permanent Fund and Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, 2020.28.16
Called to Create

Georgia Speller, Gloria Jean with Her Old Man and Sally Brown, a Friend Lady, 1987, paint and graphite on wove paper, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons’ Permanent Fund and Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, 2020.28.24
Called to Create

Henry Speller, Old Man Cartwright with Adam and Little Joe, 1987, marker, crayon, and graphite on paper, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons’ Permanent Fund and Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, 2020.28.26
Called to Create

James "Son Ford" Thomas, Untitled, 1987, unfired clay, artificial hair, sunglasses, and glass marbles, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons’ Permanent Fund and Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, 2020.28.4
Called to Create

Purvis Young, Saints, late 1970s, paint and wood on Mylar, mounted on wood, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons’ Permanent Fund and Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, 2020.28.30

Organization
Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington

The exhibition is curated by Harry Cooper, senior curator and head, department of modern art, National Gallery of Art.

Passes
Admission is always free and passes are not required

Banner detail: Missouri Pettway, "Path through the Woods" (Quiltmaker's Name), 1971, polyester knit, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons’ Permanent Fund and Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, 2020.28.16