Romare Bearden’s Collection

Featured and organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Romare Bearden’s collection is one that appreciates and depicts life for what it really is. Bearden did not like abstract expressionism. Instead, he made many collages depicting life with different perspectives, allowing the viewer to see reality, but also try to figure out the true meaning that Bearden meant to portray in the collage that was not directly seen by just looking at the picture. These collages were made by “Cut and pasted printed, colored and metallic papers, photostats, pencil, ink marker, gouache, watercolor, and pen and ink on Masonite” (MET Museum). Bearden liked telling narratives within these collages involving Harlem life. Whether it was on the streets, inside apartments, or in front of stores, these narratives told the role of many individuals within the black community. They depicted life as it was happening and you can almost write a story by just looking at these collages.

During this time, artists such as Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, and Faith Ringgold all had similar ideas about everyday life. These artists have grown up in Harlem at one point in their lives and could communicate their ideas through their works. These three African American Artists participated in their communities and were able to see and “convey an underlying social commentary about human identity seen through the prism of race and class” (Met Museum). Many subjects are explored in the works of Bearden such as street scenes, and scenes taking place inside apartments. There are also many themes that are explored as well such as the experience of African Americans in everyday life in the Harlem neighborhoods, as well as religion. In "The Art of Romare Bearden", Ruth Fine descr...

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...were doing behind closed doors. The Block is Bearden’s largest works and can be seen at the Met Museum about every five years because the collages are very fragile and is slowly fading.

Works Cited

The Block. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.

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The Block. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.

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Paul, Stella. "Modern Storytellers: Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Faith Ringgold". In

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/most/hd_most.htm (October 2004)

http://www.nga.gov/kids/zone/beardencg.pdf. National Gallery of Art, 14 Sept. 2003. Web. 27

Nov. 2011. .