Event Description

While the Harlem Renaissance may be best known for its literary and performing arts, sculptors, painters, and printmakers were key contributors to the first modern Afrocentric cultural movement and formed a black avant-garde in the visual arts.

Aaron Douglas, known as the "father of African American art," defined a modern visual language that represented black Americans in a new light.

Douglas began his artistic career as a landscape painter but was influenced by modern art movements such as cubism, in which subjects appear fragmented and fractured, and by the graphic arts, which typically use bold colors and stylized forms. 

He and other artists also looked toward West Africa for inspiration, making personal connections to the stylized masks and sculpture from Benin, Congo, and Senegal, which they viewed as a link to their African heritage.

NJ Proudly Celebrates
Black History Month

Black History Month is an annual observance in February that celebrates the achievements and contributions of African Americans to American history, culture, and society. Established in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson; Black History Month reflects on the struggles, highlights the triumphs, and provides inspiration to future generations.