"Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin Painted by Two Women Artists", ca. 1943 - ca. 1963

ArchivalResource

"Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin Painted by Two Women Artists", ca. 1943 - ca. 1963

"Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin Painted by Two Women Artists", ca. 1943 - ca. 1963

1943-1963

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/559191

This series is a collection of black-and-white and color photographs of a set of oil paintings "Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin" commissioned by the Harmon Foundation. The set originally comprised 22 portraits painted by Betsy Graves Reyneau and Laura Wheeler Waring. Overtime the number of paintings increased to 47. The paintings were first shown in May 1944 at a Smithsonian Institution exhibit. Because of the interest generated by the exhibition, a decision was made to show the paintings throughout the United States. For several years the paintings were exhibited in museums, art galleries and public buildings around the country. The majority of the paintings in the set were by Reyneau, inasmuch as Waring died in 1948 after having completed a only a handful of portraits. During an interview in 1950, Reyneau said that she considered the exhibition of the portraits a "visual education project" and hoped that in viewing the paintings "many persons can be made to realize the outstanding contributions Negroes have made to the life of the nation." The original set of 22 paintings are represented in a collection of photogravures in box 3 (DM-HNP-101 through 122). Photographs of all 47 (DM-HNP-1 through 47) are in boxes 1 and 2. Betsy Graves Reyneau (1888-1964) studied at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts shortly before World War I. She continued her studies in Cincinnati, Ohio; Paris, France and Rome, Italy. Following her studies, Reyneau maintained a studio in Detroit, MI for a number of years. Then in 1927, she moved permanently to Europe, only to leave 12 years later due to the rise of fascism. Returning to the United States, Reyneau was shocked by the overt racism that existed in the 1930's. She decided that by using her skills as a portrait painter she could do something that would make a difference in the country's perception of African Americans. Reyneau's determination eventually resulted in a set of portraits commissioned by the Harmon Foundation. The individuals chosen were prominent African-Americans who had distinguished themselves by their service to humankind. Initially Reyneau was the only artist commissioned, but as the number of potential sitters grew, Laura Wheeler Waring was asked to join the project. It was Reyneau's paintings of two subjects that led to the commissioning of the series of paintings. While in Florida, Reyneau painted a portrait of Edward Lee, a gardener (DM-HNP-29). The painting is said to have impressed George Washington Carver, the noted scientist, so favorably that he agreed to sit for Reyneau. Reyneau's portrait (DM-HNP-13A) was the last painting done of Carver and was completed just ten days prior to his death in 1943. Shortly thereafter Reyneau, newly commissioned by the foundation, traveled to Howard University in Washington, DC, and stayed five months painting noted educators and other distinguished individuals. Among that group of sitters were Charles Hamilton Houston (DM-HNP-22), Mordecai W. Johnson (DM-HNP-25) and Alain Locke (DM-HNP-30). Reyneau painted two portraits of the surgeon, Dr. Charles Drew. One year before his death in 1950, she painted Drew standing with a test tube in one hand (DM-HNP-15A). The second portrait, of Dr. Drew seated, was painted posthumously (DM-HNP-15B). The portrait of educator Mary McLeod Bethune (DM-HNP-6) took Reyneau the longest to paint as she sought to capture Bethune's "vibrant personality." Her painting of statesman, Dr. Ralph Bunche also took several weeks to paint during which time Reyneau said, she was "constantly tripping over diplomats". Also among the notables painted by Reyneau was actor Paul Robeson, in the role of Othello. The portrait was painted in 1945 at the height of Robeson's career; however, his political views later caused some art patrons in 1950 to protest the inclusion of his portrait (DM-HNP-37) in the touring exhibit. The other individuals portrayed are: Marian Anderson, Claude Barnett, Richmond Barthe, Jane M. Bolin, Arno Bontemps, Harry T. Burleigh, Capt. William Campbell, Elmer Carter, Aaron Douglas, Lester Granger, William Hastie, Ann Arnold Hedgeman, Dr. Charles S. Johnson, Eugene Kinckle Jones, John Andrew Kenney, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr. Theodore Lawless, Warren Logan, Joe (Barrow) Louis, Thurgood Marshall, Lt. Col. Mary Mills, Capt. Hugh Mulzac, Dr. Frederick Patterson, A. Philip Randolph, Edith Spurlock Sampson, Dr. Ruth Temple, Mary Church Terrell, Howard Thurman, Channing H. Tobias, Walter White, Helen A. Whiting, Paul Williams, and Monroe Nathan Work. Laura Wheeler Waring (1887-1948) was a portrait painter, illustrator, and an educator who received her first training at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. She continued her education at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris, France. Upon completion of her studies, Waring returned to the United States as an art instructor at Cheyney State Teachers College in Pennsylvania. She later became head of the art department at the college. Waring's reputation as an artists grew rapidly and her work received greater recognition. In 1926 she served as an official in charge of the Negro Art section of the Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia. In 1927, Waring received the Harmon Awards for Distinguished Achievement Among Negroes for her work in fine arts. She was the only woman to have received the highest Harmon award. Waring's work was exhibited at the Harmon Foundation from 1927 to 1928 and from 1930 to 1931. Her oils, watercolors and pastels were also exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Corcoran Gallery, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Smithsonian. Waring, unlike Reyneau in her later period, was not a painter of racial themes. She brought to the project, however, considerable expertise as a portraitist. But unfortunately, Waring was able to complete only six paintings before her death in 1948. Two other portraits painted by her prior to the commission were later added to the set. The Waring portraits are of Judge Raymond Alexander (DM-HNP-1), lawyer Sadie Alexander (DM-HNP-2), opera singer Marian Anderson (DM-HNP-3A), musician Harry T. Burleigh (DM-HNP-10), educator W.E.B. DuBois (DM-HNP-16), author Jessie Redmon Fauset (DM-HNP-17), sociologist George T. Haynes (DM-HNP-20), author, and educator James Weldon Johnson (DM-HNP-24), and physician Dr. John P. Turner (DM-HNP-43). The portraits of DuBois, Fauset and Johnson are considered to be among Waring's finest work. For additional information the careers of Reyneau and Waring, see copies of news clippings in box one. In addition to the above individuals, two black-and-white photographs of Booker T. Washington, are included in the collection. For several individuals one or more different views exists. For almost all a painting is shown framed, without a frame or displayed on an easel. Care should be taken, therefore in selecting and identifying images for reproduction. The photographs are reproductions of photographs held by Hampton University. For additional information about the photographs, contact The University Archives, Hampton University, Hampton, VA 23668.

1 linear feet, 10 linear inches

National Archives at College Park