2nd September 2023. ON THIS DAY. 

“Artists have this desire for a vision of the world…There’s some painting someplace that’s not in a museum and it’s your idea as a painter to put that one thing that is missing there.”

– Romare Bearden

Introduction

As an artist, Romare Howard Bearden’s work spanned boundaries and sparked discussions about race, culture, and identity in America. Romare Howard Bearden was born on this day, September 2nd, 1911 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and died on March 12, 1988, in New York City. Bearden was a humanist who was committed to fostering new talent and advancing cultural diversity in addition to his work as an artist.

After graduating with a degree in education from New York University, Bearden’s learning journey took him from Lincoln University to Boston University. Bearden’s love of art grew while he was a student at NYU, and as a result, he became a successful cartoonist and the art editor for “The Medley.” At the Art Students League in New York and the Sorbonne in Paris, he pursued his artistic endeavours. In 1935, he started working as a weekly editorial cartoonist for the Baltimore Afro-American, a position he held until 1937. This was the turning point in his career.

Romare Bearden’s Artworks

Continuous experimentation and creativity were hallmarks of Romare Bearden’s artistic development. He drew influence from a wide range of genres, including African art, Byzantine mosaics, Japanese prints, and Chinese landscape paintings in addition to Western masters like Cezanne, Picasso, and Matisse. Bearden’s aesthetic vocabulary was broadened by this wide range of inspirations, creating a body of work that defied classification.

Bearden matched his artistic pursuits with his profession as a social worker for the New York City Department of Social Services from the mid-1930s until the 1960s. With his first solo show in Harlem in 1940 and a second in Washington, DC, in 1944, his perseverance paid off. Bearden produced an enormous amount of artwork, including collages, watercolours, oils, photomontages, and prints. His work was influenced by a vast tapestry of historical, literary, and musical inspirations, as well as by his experiences in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Harlem.

Bearden married Nanette Rohan in 1954, and the two remained together for the rest of his life. Some of Bearden’s later paintings, which reflected the lush landscapes of his wife’s ancestral home, were influenced by their second home, which they had on the Caribbean island of St. Martin. Bearden’s influence in the art world is attested by the presence of notable artists in his artistic circle, such as James Baldwin, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, and Joan Miró.

• The Dove by Romare Bearden

  

“The Dove” is a noteworthy piece by Bearden. Bearden invites audiences to consider Black culture in America by presenting this collage. His figures, which he created from common paper scraps, fill the gap between the 1960s and the present while pressuring us to consider the complexity of Black identity. Bearden’s work highlights the interaction of art and music in narrative and provides a window into the intellectual and aesthetic accomplishments of Black artists in the 20th century.

• The Train by Romare Bearden

  

In his work titled “The Train,” Bearden offers a challenging arrangement. Wide-eyed and unified black faces look out at the spectator, their function as observers or travellers are unclear. Patches of vivid colour contrast with the piece’s predominate blackness and give it life and fire. The tiny train in the upper-left corner represents the African-American experience’s themes of migration and segregation. Bearden pointed out that trains could both take people somewhere else and return them to where they came from, mirroring the historical significance of trains in the struggle for freedom from slavery.

• The Piano Lesson by Romare Bearden

  

With its juxtaposition of patterns and flat sections of colour, Bearden’s collage, “The Piano Lesson,” is reminiscent of Henri Matisse’s work. This piece was initially used as a banner for a collaboration between jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams and Bearden’s wife Nanette. It was inspired by Williams. August Wilson, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his drama “The Piano Lesson,” was inspired by this work. The drama, which was based on the rich tapestry of African-American culture and history portrayed in Bearden’s collages, was set in Pittsburgh, the artist’s hometown.

Conclusion

The legacy of Romare Bearden goes well beyond his works of art. He has made significant contributions to American culture as a writer, artist, and supporter of up-and-coming artists. His wide-ranging collection of work continues to challenge and excite viewers, inspiring us to consider the nuances of race, culture, and identity. In a world that is constantly changing, Bearden’s artwork is a tribute to the ability of creativity to reduce barriers and foster understanding.

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