Black Abstractions from the Atlanta University Annuals
Title
Black Abstractions from the Atlanta University Annuals
Date Modified
2025-09-12
Description
The Atlanta University Annuals, originally known as the Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings by Negro Artists in America, was an annual juried art competition designed for Black diasporic artists, held at Atlanta University from 1942 to 1970. The winning pieces from the Annuals competition were accessioned into the art collection of Atlanta University and comprise the foundation of the CAU Art Museum's permanent collection. In the afterlives of post-World War II, inspired by Mexican muralist and social realism, Black artists established a pocket within the Abstract Expressionist movement. Black abstractionists were marginal in the white-majority Abstract Expressionist movement and also misunderstood among Black artists who preferred the figurative art tradition and perceived abstraction as apolitical. The collection Black Abstractions from the Atlanta University Annuals disrupt these ideas as it contributes to the canon of Black abstractionists that depicted natural and social life outside of figurative work.
Curated By
Shyheim Williams
Contributing Institution
Clark Atlanta University
About This Record
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David Driskell was a Black artist, scholar, and curator known for his culmination of African abstract forms and modern aesthetics from Eatonton, GA. Young Pines Growing is an abstraction of a pine tree against a light blue background. The dispersed tree displays a texture similar to stained-glass using dimensional greens.
Walter Augustus Simon was an art historian, professor, and artist best known for his abstract oil paintings from Petersburg, VA. Venezia is a cubist landscape abstraction depicting San Marco, Venice, ITL. Simon uses a variety of shapes and colors to illustrate Venice’s main public square.
Alexander S. McMath was a painter and educator from Clinton, SC. Untitled depicts a surrealist anatomical rendering of a human figure's side profile. Signed text by the artist sits on the right of the figure.
William C. Henderson II was an artist from Pontiac, MI. Union is a geometric drawing that interrogrates the intersection of lines and shapes. The piece centers a split circle, one side consisting of lines, the other of shapes, with two intersecting squares overlayed over it.
Ernest Hardman was a painter from Detroit, MI. The Last Supper #2 is an abstract depiction of Jesus and His disciples sitting around a table. Unlike The Last Supper, Hardman decenters Jesus and creates a euphony of shape and color that resembles men debating around a table.
Harper T. Phillips was an artist from Courtland, AL. The Ant is a painting with numerous geometric forms and lines in a vertical composition. Each white, yellow, green, and black shape lay in pocketed areas overlapping black borders and lines.
Gilbert H. Hatcher was a painter from Augusta, GA. Spring Folic is an abstract painting with a green background. The color palette includes hues of yellow, red, orange, green, white, and black. Gestural strokes of paint are layered to create a feeling of nature and springtime.
Dr. Arthur L. Britt was an artist and educator from Cuthbert, GA. Society Wheels is an abstraction that uses black and white to enact visual chaos and composition. The inclusion of "KKK" positions it as a critique of American race relations and racial violence.
Leon Lank Leonard, Sr. was a painter, sculptor, and educator from Waco, TX. Sad Jester combines gestural line art, expressive brushwork, and abstract forms. These techniques are layered to create a face that is centered in the composition. There are mixes and hues of blue, red, green, yellow, orange, and black.
James Conroy Yeargans was a painter from Kansas City, MI. Quest of Blue is an abstract painting with colored layers that create a myriad of forms. The word “quest” can be seen as the letters are connected by gestured strokes and lines.
Alexander S. McMath was a painter and educator from Clinton, SC. Prelude to a Kiss is a non-figurative abstraction consisting of gestural brush strokes.
James Adair was an artist from Atlanta, GA. A prayer Meeting is an abstract depiction of a group of people practicing a religious ritual. Adair uses broad brush strokes of green, red, and yellow to create this scene of piety.
Dr. Arthur L. Britt was an artist and educator from Cuthbert, GA. Poverty Toy Chest is an installation that displays items impoverished children use for recreational play. It shows the disparity and ingenuity of people with little resources.
Howard E. Lewis was an Art professor and Korean War veteran from Columbus, OH. Pitiless Sun is an abstract depiction of a desert landscape during an eclipse.
William S. Carter was an abstract, landscape, still-life, and figurative painter from St. Louis, Missouri. Pieta is an interpretation of Michaelangelo's Madonna della Pietà. The gestural ink markings create facial features and show eyes looking downward on top of a pastel-colored backdrop.
John Payne was an artist from New Orleans, LA. Mr. Mardi Gras is an abstract depiction of a male figure in the midst of the euphony of colors that represent the vibrance of Mardi Gras.
Tommie E. Price was an artist from Tulsa, OK. Lost For A Name shows white and black abstract shapes and forms with thinly drawn lines. They are layered to create contrast, variety, and movement for the viewer to experience.
Merton D. Simpson was an abstract expressionist painter and African art collector. Landscape Symphony is an abstract landscape that depicts a white sun with hues of a dark blue-green sky. The connected polygons of vibrant red, green, and orange are the main emphasis of the piece. They reach three bunches of short highlighted strokes in the landscape.
Merton D. Simpson was an abstract expressionist painter and African art collector from Brooklyn, N.Y. Landscape of Summer is an abstract depiction of a sunny day. Simpson blends shades of yellow, orange, and brown to emulate the luminence of a summer day.
Jewell Woodard Simon was an internationally acclaimed artist, teacher, and poet from Houston, TX. Ghost Harbour City depicts an urbanscape and a dock with moored boats. Horizontal and vertical lines shape the city and water and create depth. Simon blends colors to detail the light, shadow, and shape of each building and the seascape.
Anderson D. Macklin was an artist, professor, art historian, and author from Luther, OK. Flowers and Paper Magnified is an abstract view of its namesake. Macklin uses muted pastels and charcoal shadows to create a magnified perspective of the objects.
Hayward Oubre was a multimedia artist and educator from New Orleans, LA.. Flight Into Space is an abstracted perspective of a flight into space. Oubre uses shades of blue and black to display the complexities of space.
Hayward Oubre was a multimedia artist and educator from New Orleans, LA. Equivocal Fox is an abstract depiction of a fox using polygonal shapes. The red and blue forms overlap throughout the painting. The entire artwork is painted with a bumpy texture, which creates a slight relief sculpture effect.
Houston E. Chandler was a sculptor, printmaker, painter, and teacher from Saint Louis, MO. Boogie Woogie depicts two abstracted figures dancing the Boogie Woogie, a popular dance in the early 20th century.
Alvin Smith was an artist from Brooklyn, NY. As in an Arctic Sunrise is an abstract depiction of the sunrise in a frozen landscape. Muted yellows shine through an array of black, white, and muted blues.
Walter Augustus Simon was an art historian, professor, and artist best known for his abstract oil paintings from Petersburg, VA. Abstraction—The City—No. 3 depicts a city scene in front of a set of brownstones with abstracted bricks. Several Black people are conversing, relaxing, and playing around the building.
Barbara L. Gallon was an artist from Tallahassee, FL. Abstraction is a depiction of two main shape forms painted in a light tan, paired with a bright red square in the left. They are boarded by black paint and layered on a surface of dark red, brown, black, and tan.
