University of Alabama to Receive Renowned African-American Art Collection

From Authentic Art Visions

The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa has announced that Paul R. Jones has donated his collection of American art to the university. The collection includes one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of twentieth century African-American art in the world.

Valued at $4.8 million, the 1,700-piece collection encompasses art in a variety of media and from more than six hundred artists, including Romare Bearden, Prentice Herman (P.H.) Polk, Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, Carrie Mae Weems, Sam Gilliam, and Benny Andrews.

“$4.8 Million Paul R. Jones Art Collection Donated to UA.” University of Alabama Press Release 10/14/08.

Curator's Perspective

Introduction to The Great American Epic: Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series

Thursday, June 12, 6 & 7 pm

Associate Curator Elsa Smithgall will discuss the historical, artistic, and socio-cultural context of The Migration Series, Jacob Lawrence's 60-panel masterwork of narrative painting.

Free; reservations are not required.

Phillips Collection
1600 Twenty-first Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
www.phillipscollection.org

Looking Back, Looking Forward

Roundtable
Thursday, May 29, 6:30 pm

Look back at African American art of the 20th century and forward to its development in the new millennium. Dr. David C. Driskell (artist, collector, and emeritus professor at the University of Maryland) and Dr. Elizabeth Hutton Turner (vice provost for the arts and professor, University of Virginia, and former Phillips senior curator) are panelists. The moderator is Dr. Leslie King-Hammond (dean of graduate studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art). Jacob Lawrence is the starting point for a consideration of the role of African American art within the larger context of contemporary American art. In collaboration with the Millennium Arts Salon.

Free; reservations are not required.

Phillips Collection
1600 Twenty-first Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
www.phillipscollection.org

The Great American Epic: Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series

May 3-October 26, 2008

The complete 60-panel series, rarely seen in its entirely, will be on view Oct. 26, 2008 exclusively at the Phillips. Told through vivid patterns and colors, this masterpiece of narrative painting is the first ever produced on the great 20th-century exodus of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North. The exhibition will take an in-depth look at Lawrence’s powerful interpretation of this significant moment in American history and examine how the story still resonates today.

The Phillips Collection
1600 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009