The HCAC public history focused digital archive cataloging is an ongoing process, and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. We welcome your comments and feedback if you have more information to share about an item featured on the site, please contact us at: HCAC-DigiTeam@si.edu
James Routh, Jr. is a painting and printmaker from Atlanta, GA, by way of New Orleans, LA. "Blue Ridge Farm" depicts a rural landscape in the Blue Ridge Mountains, an Appalachian range that extends from Georgia to Pennsylvania. The background shows an atmospheric perspective of two mountains and rain clouds. In the foreground, two women dressed in white are picking cotton while a man behind them carries cotton on his back.
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.
Robert Blackburn was a notable printmaker from Summit, NJ who grew up in Harlem, NY. "Boy with Green Head" is a print of a green-headed boy wearing a black shirt with a muted background. The boy is looking at the viewer with a pensive expression.
Howard E. Lewis was an Art professor and Korean War veteran from Columbus, OH. "Boy with Pet" depicts a young man sitting outside with a domesticated chicken. The bird rests in his lap as it sits along a curb in front of a chain link fence.
Edward Strickland was an artist, educator, and writer who lived in New York City. "Brooklyn View" depicts the rooftop perspective of a neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. Several buildings with chimneys and spires are in the foreground, and the cityscape continues in the background.
Gregory L. Ridley, Jr. was an artist from Smyrna, TN. "Brooklyn View" is a painting of the nightlife in Brooklyn, New York City during the 60’s. Story top buildings, trains, and street lights painted in layers of red, teal, orange, and black reflect a busy scenery on an open body of water below.
Samuel Albert Countee was a New Negro movement painter and sculptor from Marshall, TX. "Brown Girl" depicts a nude Black woman in nature. She has a thoughtful expression as she touches the branches that obscure her groin. In the background is a garden scene of pink flowers and lush trees.
Hubert C. Taylor was an architect and artist from Kilmarnock, VA. "Bus Stop" is a non-finito depiction of a bus stop. The piece displays a sign pole with indistinct shapes and shadows surrounding it.
Leonard Jones was an artist from Winston-Salem, N.C. "Cathedral" is a cubist depiction of a cathedral and the town surrounding it. Jones uses a variety of light and dark colors that resemble the aesthetic of stained glass.
Richard Dempsey was a painter known for his abstractions and portraits of prominent African American leaders from Washington, D.C. "Cathedral and Choir" is an impressionist depiction of the inside of a church. The yellow brushstrokes create a tall organ alongside stained glass; the layered reds, blues, and black show the congregation and choir.
John Arterberry was an artist who worked in the art department at Langston University from Tallahassee, FL. "Ceres" depicts the Roman goddess of agriculture, grain crops, and fertility, looking toward the sun. Ceres wears a crown of wheat stalks and holds a pitchfork in one hand and a bouquet of poppies in the other.
Guy L. Miller was an artist from Los Angeles, CA. "Character" is a sculpture of the head of a bearded Black man. His eyes are closed, and he looks as if he is in a deep slumber. The marble sculpture head has a deep black color, invoking fortitude and calm.
John Woodrow Wilson was a sculptor, painter, and printmaker from Roxbury, MA. "Child With Father" shows a baby wrapped in cloth as large shadowy hands are folded around the baby, making a round, square-like shape.
Dr. Eddie Jordan, Sr., was a Southern artist from Wichita Falls, TX. "Christ Crowned with Thorns" is a metal bust of Jesus with African features. The bust has a metal thorned crown installed atop it to depict Jesus' leading to his crucifixion.
Richmond Barthe was a sculptor from Bay St. Louis, MS. "Christina" is a plaster and bronze bust of a woman with a pensive expression mounted on a dark pedestal.
John Woodrow Wilson, a sculptor, painter, and printmaker from Roxbury, MA, was known for his creative portraits and stylistic approach to social justice. "Church" is a cityscape that centers an old steepled church under a cloudy, blue sky. There is a child dressed in red and overalls standing in front of the church's entrance.
Romeyn van Vleck Lippman was a 19th-century painter and educator. "Church" is a portrait of a man and woman with a cathedral in the distance. The woman embraces herself and glances away from the man as he leans toward her. They both wear red cloaks, and the woman wears a white headdress.
Jewell Woodard Simon was an internationally acclaimed artist, teacher, and poet from Houston, TX. "City Slums" depicts an elevated view of an urban landscape. In the middle ground is a residential area with a skyline in the background. Several people are outside in the neighborhood, including a mother and child and a woman washing clothes.
Frederick D. Jones, Jr. is a mid-twentieth-century African-American artist from South Carolina. "Concerto" is a surrealist depiction of an orchestra’s performance under a cloudy, moonlit sky. In the foreground is a violinist beside ballet shoes and a red ball. Directly behind her is a flutist and dancer. There is also a mask, rope, and yellow scarf.
Lewis E. Stephens was an artist and photographer from Hamden, CT. "Country" is a rural landscape painting depicting a residential area beneath a mountain range. In the foreground is an open landscape with a vegetation between residential farms. In the background, Stephens uses cool hues to illustrate the mountains.
Hayward Oubre was a multimedia artist and educator from New Orleans, LA. During his time competing at the annuals, Oubre developed his artistic practice to include wire to set himself apart from his competition. "Crown of Thorns" is a metal wire framework depiction of Jesus that represents Oubre's skill in wire sculpture.
Henry Wilmer Bannarn was an educator, sculptor, painter, and sketch artist best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance. "Daywork" is a limestone sculpture of a woman doing domestic labor. The female subject appears to be kneading something with raised shoulders.
Wilmer Jennings was a printmaker, painter, and jeweler from Atlanta, GA.
"Dead Tree" depicts a small landscape of a large leafless tree and a barn with a gate. Wilmer’s hatching technique creates a range of both shadows and light throughout the scenery. The tree sitting in the foreground has a dark tone emphasizing it as the main subject.
Estella W. Johnson was an artist from New York, NY. "Delancey Street, N.Y.C.," is a watercolor depiction of a multi-use building in New York. There is a red brick apartment above a storefront with a fire escape. There is also a woman watering plants out of her window.
James Reuben Reed was a painter born in Kansas City, MO. "Depressed" is an oil painting of a seated man wearing a tattered gray suit, a hat, and black shoes. He is leaning forward, whiting a piece of wood and looking toward the viewer.
Irabell Cotton was a multidisciplinary artist from Harris, Oklahoma. "Despair" is a marble sculpture depicting a person in an anguished pose. The figure is balled into itself, with its head in one hand and the other arm wrapped around its shoulder.
James Newton was a painter, printmaker, scholar, and professor from Delaware. "Desperate Faith" is a print depicting a mystical figure riding a unicycle as another figure watches. The dark, eery background contributes to the surrealism of the piece.
Vivian M. Williams was an artist and art teacher from Coshocton, OH. "Discards" depicts scattered pieces of wooden furniture, including a rocking chair, in a room with white-brown brick walls. The broken pieces have been cast aside on a bed of bright yellow hay with strands of golden brown.
Harper T. Phillips was an artist from Courtland, AL. "Discernment" is a surrealist interrogation of the disciplines used to judge value in society. The left side has a dark background and features symbols of morality and mortality. The right side has a white background and features religious and scientific images and symbols.
Houston Chandler was a sculptor, printmaker, painter, and teacher from Saint Louis, MO. "Duel in the Sun" is a print artwork of an avian battle on an abstracted landscape. One colorful rooster looks down upon the other it just defeated. The roosters are set on a green field against a blue sky with a swirling yellow sun.
