African Art in the Barnes Foundation

African Art in the Barnes Foundation: The Triumph of L’Art nègre and the Harlem Renaissance
By Christa Clarke, with contributions by 15 other distinguished scholars


African Art in the Barnes Foundation is the first catalogue of the approximately 125 African objects—including figural sculpture and masks, as well as utilitarian objects—that Albert C. Barnes acquired between 1921 and 1924. Barnes was one of the first people in the United States to display African objects as art, at a time when they were considered ethnographic specimens. Not only did he regard African works as art, but he considered them to be the highest form of three-dimensional expression. He installed his African collection amid European and American works from the early Renaissance to the twentieth century. Barnes placed African art at the heart of his foundation, linking African aesthetics to its educational mission. His lifelong commitment to the advancement of African Americans and his vision of social justice through education led to his promotion of African art and his early involvement in the Harlem Renaissance. 

12¾ × 9¼ × 1½ in., 295 pages, hardcover.

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