The Studio Journal
Artists
The painters, sculptors, and photographers behind the work. Who they were, what they made, and why it still matters on a wall today.
Contemporary Black Artists Shaping Modern Art Today
Discover how contemporary black artists are reshaping modern art today. Explore their diverse mediums and unique voices that matter in today's art world.
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Augusta Savage Made One Masterpiece They Bulldozed and a Generation They Couldn't
Augusta Savage built a 16-foot sculpture for the 1939 World's Fair. It was demolished. What survived was a generation of Black artists.
Sixty Panels, One Great Migration: Why Jacob Lawrence Still Owns the Wall
How Jacob Lawrence's 60-panel Migration Series still shapes how we hang Black art at home, from the 1942 museum split to modern sequence walls.
Archibald Motley Painted the Party: Nightlife, Jazz, and the Chicago Renaissance
Archibald Motley chronicled Black nightlife in Chicago for decades. Here's what's verified about his career, his 1928 breakthrough, and Nightlife.
Before Instagram, There Was Van Der Zee's Studio
Long before social feeds, James Van Der Zee's Harlem studio was where the neighborhood gathered to be seen. Here's what that meant.
Aaron Douglas Painted Black History in Silhouette. You Can Still See It for Free.
Aaron Douglas turned Black history into flat, glowing silhouettes. Meet the Harlem Renaissance painter and the free NYPL mural you can visit today.
Richmond Barthé: Turned Away From Art School, Collected by the Whitney
Richmond Barthé was barred from art school for being Black. Nine years later, the Whitney collected his sculpture first. Here's the story.
The Women of the Harlem Renaissance Museums Took Longest to See
Meet the women artists of the Harlem Renaissance, from Meta Warrick Fuller to Loïs Mailou Jones, and why museums recognized them so late.
Selma Burke and the Dime in Your Pocket
Selma Burke won a 1943 FDR commission and sketched Roosevelt live in 1944. Did her plaque shape the Roosevelt dime? The credit is still contested.
The Harlem Renaissance Wasn't Just Writers. Meet the Artists.
The Harlem Renaissance had painters, sculptors, and photographers too. Meet Augusta Savage, Jacob Lawrence, Motley, and Van Der Zee.
Richard Bruce Nugent: The Man Who Wouldn't Be Closeted
Richard Bruce Nugent wrote "Smoke, Lilies and Jade" for Fire!! in 1926 and refused shame. The Harlem Renaissance writer who lived out loud.
Glenn Ligon's Notes on the Margin of the Black Book, Explained
How Glenn Ligon's Notes on the Margin of the Black Book annotates Mapplethorpe's photos with 78 arguing voices, and why it never picks a side.
The Artists History Skipped Are Getting Their Turn
Vivian Browne and Nancy Elizabeth Prophet waited decades for a museum to notice. Here's what their overdue recognition means for how you collect.
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Every piece in the flagship exhibition is painted, then printed to order on museum-grade canvas. 53 works are hanging now.
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