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African-American Artists
Ask a child to name famous African-Americans, and there are some names they are sure to mention: Martin Luther King, Jr., Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks. Ask your child to name some African-American authors, and they may mention Langston Hughes, Toni Morrison or Maya Angelou. But ask them to name African-American artists and they may draw a blank. The following books will introduce young readers to African-American artists, their works, and contributions to both the African-American legacy and society as a whole.
Reviews
Faith Ringgold Robyn Montana Turner These titles from an exceptionally well-produced and complementary series on women artists contain first-rate reproductions. The author's simple, conversational style reveals insights that vivify the artists and their works. Currently, other subjects in Ms. Turner's "Portraits of Women Artists for Children" are Rosa Bonheur, Mary Cassatt, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Dorothea Lange. 1991, Little Brown, Ages 8 to 10, $16.95 and $6.95. Reviewer: Beverly Kobrin ISBN: 0-316-85652-5 Best Books: 
Me and Uncle Romie: A Story Inspired by the Life and Art of Romare BeardenClaire Hartfield Paintings by Jerome Lagarrigue The African American artist Romare Bearden and the world in which he lived are fascinatingly recreated in this fictional story of a young nephew from North Carolina who visits him one summer. James is apprehensive about staying with these unknown relatives, but they welcome him. Aunt Nanette shows him the sights of the city. When she must leave for a while, Uncle Romie takes time from his preparation for a big art show to share memories of his youth in North Carolina and his love of trains, while giving James a birthday to remember. James has a chance to see his uncle's art show before he returns home, and inspired by a gift painting, to try his own. Although Lagarrigue's acrylic and collage paintings provide effective portraits of the characters with enough contextual details to create a sense of place, they are more significant in their ability to provide atmosphere for the psychological environment of James's adventure. Expressionistic, and exploring the darker tones of pigments, they incorporate bits of newsprint collage which subtly add structure while hinting at Bearden's medium. Teachers, parents, and readers might find the final two-page "Making Collage" lesson useful and interesting but it detracts a bit from the story's humanistic strength. Hartfield has added facts on Bearden's life. 2002, Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Putnam, Ages 5 to 9, $16.99. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz ISBN: 0-8037-2520-5 Best Books: Painting Dreams: Minnie Evans, Visionary Artist Mary E. Lyons Despite great odds, Minnie Evans became a widely respected and well-exhibited folk artist. As a little girl, Minnie Evans kept to herself because she felt she was different from the other kids. Plagued by vivid dreams as a child, her grandmother told her that these dreams made her special. The dreams continued until she became an adult. At the age of 43, she began to draw images from these dreams on scraps of paper. Although her family ridiculed her--she persevered and eventually created hundreds of drawings and paintings. A photographer discovered her unique work and helped Minnie sell her paintings and eventually exhibit them in museums. Children and adults will enjoy all of the examples of Minnie's work included in this remarkable book. 1996, Houghton, Ages 8 up, $14.95. Reviewer: Kristin Harris ISBN: 0-395-72032-X Best Books: Romare Bearden: Celebrating the Victory Myron Schwartzman Romare Bearden is considered by many to have been the Dean of African American artists. His unique collages can be seen in public buildings and museums across the United States. This biography follows Bearden from his early days in Charlotte, North Carolina to his later years in Pittsburgh and New York City. His mixed-media collages, for which he became famous, drew on his memories and experience as a child and young man. He was influenced by Pablo Picasso, particularly by Picasso's Cubist principles. The author also shows how listening to jazz music helped Bearden to understand the use of space in music, and he incorporated this understanding onto the canvas. There are family photographs included, as well as two sections of color reproductions of Bearden's works. Unfortunately, it is impossible to identify paper, wood, and other materials that the artist utilized in his collages, so the prints do little justice to the actual pieces. A chronology highlights the major events in the artist's life (Romare Bearden died in 1988). 1999, Franklin Watts Inc, Ages 12 up, $26.00 and $12.95. Reviewer: Christopher Moning ISBN: 0-531-11387-6 Best Books: Starting Home: The Story of Horace Pippin, Painter Mary E. Lyons Horace Pippin, one of the African-American artists featured in Children of Promise didn't begin painting until he was 43 years old. Intermediate-grade and older can learn more about him in Mary E. Lyons' biography, which is illustrated with photos and reproductions of his "primitive" works. 1993, Simon & Schuster, Ages 8 to 14, $15.95. Reviewer: Beverly Kobrin ISBN: 0-6841-9534-8 Best Books: Awards, Honors, Prizes: 
Story Painter: The Life of Jacob LawrenceJohn Duggleby Meaningful biographies are written to touch the heart and soul of the reader and to shed light on a person's life. I hope teachers will not overlook this rich, moving biography of Jacob Lawrence. Lawrence is one of the most famous African-American painters of the 20th century. Although he grew up in the midst of the Harlem Renaissance, he knew firsthand the sting of prejudice and the sorrow of his people. Duggleby uses the artist's paintings to allow readers to see into Lawrence's world. It is only 53 pages, but what a wallop it packs. 1998, Chronicle, Ages 10 up, $16.95. Reviewer: Jan Lieberman ISBN: 0-8118-2082-3 Best Books: Story Painter: The Life of Jacob Lawrence John Duggleby The magnificent paintings of Jacob Lawrence fill the pages of this book, which also contains a well-written and fascinating account of his life. During his early years, Lawrence was separated from his mother and sister because she couldn't make enough money to support the family. Finally, she was able to move herself and her children to Harlem. In the 1930's, Harlem was a vibrant neighborhood filled with African-American artists, musicians and business leaders. It was a heady atmosphere, but fearing that he might get involved with a gang, his mother enrolled him in an after-school program that offered art instruction where Lawrence learned about the heroes in African-American history who were never part of the regular school curriculum. They fired his imagination and, although Lawrence eventually dropped out of school to support his family, every spare moment was spent painting. He created a story with forty-one paintings--a tribute to Touissaint L'Ouverture. He continued painting and his work was exhibiting in galleries and museums. He became famous, but fame brought a price--Lawrence suffered from depression and was hospitalized. With help he recovered, relocated to the West Coast, became a professor and continues to paint his story pictures for which he has received accolades from around the world. It is an incredible story accompanied by photographs and reproductions of Lawrence's own art. Story Painter is a book that can be enjoyed over and over, and one that will provide inspiration to all who savor its contents. 1998, Chronicle, Ages 10 up, $16.95. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot ISBN: 0-8118-2082-3 Best Books: Story Painter: The Life of Jacob Lawrence John Duggleby Using Lawrence's own paintings and prints, the author recounts the development of the artist as a child in the Harlem Renaissance through the Depression to his position as one of the most renown painters of the African American experience. Lawrence's bold paintings and the subject matter itself propel readers to new appreciation of history and of this present-day artist. 1998, Chronicle Books, Ages 9 to 14, $16.95. Reviewer: Susan Hepler ISBN: 0-8118-2082-3 Best Books: Talking with Artists Compiled and edited by Pat Cummings Thirteen of her fellow children's book illustrators, among them Lois Ehlert, Tom Feelings, and Jerry Pinkney, spoke to Ms. Cummings about their early lives and answered questions about how they work. Photos and art from their childhood and adulthood accompany each dialogue. 1997 (orig. 1992), Bradbury, Ages 8 to 14, $22.00, $11.95 and $19.95. Reviewer: Beverly Kobrin ISBN: 0-02-724245-5 Best Books: Awards, Honors, Prizes: State and Provincial Reading Lists: 
Talking with Tebé: Clementine Hunter, Memory ArtistEdited by Mary E. Lyons This compelling biography of an African-American sharecropper who gained national recognition as a self-taught artist blends southern history with the story of a spirited, independent woman worth knowing about. Born in 1886, Clementine Hunter remembered seeing her father pick four hundred pounds of cotton in a day. She herself set babies on the end of a cotton row, while she worked for less than two dollars a day. Clementine painted her first picture on a shoebox top with old tubes of paint found in a wastebasket. Before she died in 1988, at the age of 101, her work had been displayed in museums across the country. Editor Mary Lyons has masterfully pieced together audio and print interviews to allow Clementine to tell her amazing story in her own words. The result is an intimate visit with a woman who expressed her soul through art created late at night after a full day's work. Color illustrations give examples of Hunter's work with informative captions. Art teachers will be delighted by the elegant explanation of folk art. Social studies teachers will love the vivid historical lessons. Every reader who comes in contact with this book will be enriched. 1998, Houghton Mifflin, Ages 9 to 12, $16.00. Reviewer: Jackie Hechtkopf ISBN: 0-395-72031-1 Best Books: To stay up to date on new books on this topic, consider subscribing to The Children's Literature Comprehensive Database. For your free trial, click here. 10/5/03
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Artists and Writers of the Harlem Renaissance
