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. Historically Black Colleges and Universities are a nexus of Black art history, as many Black art icons attended these institutions and founded or developed their art department. As the founder of the Annuals, Hale Woodruff encouraged his students at Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Atlanta University to submit their work to be considered for the exhibition. Likewise, other Black art educators at HBCUs submitted to the exhibition and introduced their students to the professional art world through the Annuals exhibition. HBCU Students in the Atlanta University Annuals showcases paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures by students or alumni of HBCUs that won a prize award during the Annuals.
Curated By
Shyheim Williams
Contributing Institution
Clark Atlanta University
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Elizabeth Catlett was an artist and educator from Washington, D.C., who repatriated to Mexico. Black is Beautiful: Mother and Son depicts a profile view of a Black woman and her child. Catlett captures the mother's grace and her son's curiosity as they look away from the viewer.
Gregory L. Ridley, Jr., was an artist from Smyrna, TN. Asleep in Stone is a marble sculpture of a person asleep. The subject's face is subtly carved into the marble, giving the impression that the subject is not separate from the stone.
Romeyn van Vleck Lippman was a 19th-century painter and educator. Baptismal (I Give This Child to Baptism) depicts a religious scene of a woman preparing to baptize a girl. Both female subjects are dark-skinned and standing in water, dressed in white, under a dark sky. The woman is wearing a red kerchief, and the girl's is white.
Elizabeth Catlett was an artist and educator from Washington, D.C., who repatriated to Mexico. Bather is a bronze sculpture of a woman preparing to bathe. The subject is nude, standing with their head held high with a towel hanging from their arm.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Harper T. Phillips was an artist from Courtland, AL. Discernment is a vivid landscape of surrealism (or a surrealist landscape). The right side has a white background displaying relationships between religion and science. The left black side shows connections between morality and mortality.
Leroy C. Weaver was an artist and art educator from Prarie View, TX. East Texas Oil Field is a print depicting an oil field in East Texas. The print features several oil rigs and workers' living quarters. In the background, a landscape of forest and trees is visible. The drawing shows the oil field from a pilot's perspective.
Jewell Woodard Simon was an internationally acclaimed artist, teacher, and poet from Houston, TX. Ensenada Passage illustrates a mountainous path to Ensenada, Mexico. A bridge leading to the city is in the foreground, roads lay in the middle ground, and the mountains build up towards the sky, creating an atmospheric perspective.
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.
Romeyn van Vleck Lippman was a 19th-century painter and educator. Eternal depicts a family portrait of three generations. Lippman illustrates the immortality of humanity through familial legacies.
Jewell Woodard Simon was an internationally acclaimed artist, teacher, and poet from Houston, TX. February Lace is an atmospheric watercolor of a park in late winter. The scene includes patches of dried and lush grass, trees with red and purple leaves, and a bridge. Simon used the trees in the foreground to create a sense of depth.
John W. Rhoden was a renowned sculptor from Birmingham, AL. Female Figure is a wooden sculpture of a nude woman. The woman's demeanor is peaceful, and she stands slack-armed with a relieved expression.
Edward L. Pryce was a landscape architect and artist from Lake Charles, LA. Fisherman with Cormorant is a medium-sized carving of a man fishing with a bird on his head.
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.
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.
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.
Gregory L. Ridley, Jr. was an artist from Smyrna, TN. Hold On is a limestone sculpture of a figure securing itself to a pole-like form. The piece is heavily textured, distinguishing between skin, hair, clothing, and natural materials.
Hayward Oubre was a multimedia artist and educator from New Orleans, LA. In a Pensive Mood is a sculpture of a woman sitting in a worried position. Her hands cover her mouth and right eye as she sits with her left leg tucked under her right.
Jenelsie Walden Holloway was an artist and art educator from Atlanta, GA. In a World Alone is a sketch of a nude woman. The sketch depicts the nude woman in a reflective pose, sitting on a porch with a cityscape in the distance.
Jimmie Mosely was an artist, navyman, and art professor from Lakeland, FL. Johannesburg is an abstract watercolor depiction of African people traveling through the street. Mosely uses bright colors that emphasize the vibrance of South African culture.
Leo Twiggs was an artist and art professor from St. Stephen, SC. Lullaby depicts a mother singing to her child in a rocking chair. The abstracted background shows farmland as the sun sets just beyond a barn.
Patricia C. Walker was an artist from Worcester, MA. Man is a surrealist drawing that uses gothic symbols, such as the cross, crow on the tombstone, skull, and older man, to signify human mortality. It also uses Christian iconography, such as Adam and the Snake.
Jewell Woodard Simon was an internationally acclaimed artist, teacher, and poet from Houston, TX. Margaret is a plaster bust of a Black woman. Like her other sculptures, Simon details the subject's features, including her nose, mouth, eyes, ears, and hair texture.
Jewell Woodard Simon was an internationally acclaimed artist, teacher, and poet from Houston, TX. Marine Land Fantasy is an underwater landscape drawing of fish and plants. Simon uses a variety of colors that illustrate aquatic biodiversity. Her use of lines evokes the depth of open water.
