Black American PortraitsBlack American Portraits
Barkley Leonnard Hendricks, 'Self Portrait', 1977, © Barkley L. Hendricks. Rennie Collection, Vancouver

August 17, 2023 - January 7, 2024

Black American Portraits

Black American Portraits reframes the history of portraiture to center Black American subjects, sitters, and spaces. The exhibition chronicles the many ways in which Black Americans have used portraiture to envision themselves in their own eyes. Featuring more than 100 works drawn primarily from the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the exhibition spans more than two centuries and includes nineteenth-century studio photography; portraits from the Harlem Renaissance; images from the Civil Rights, Black Power, and Black Lives Matter eras; pictures of Black celebrities and political figures; and artists’ self-portraits. Countering a visual culture saturated with the spectacle of Black pain, these works instead celebrate joy, abundance, and agency.

The presentation of Black American Portraits at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art will highlight the city's vibrant legacy of visual art, incorporating artworks held in our permanent collection as well as loans of historical and contemporary works by Black artists with Memphis connections. Also included is a selection of portraits from the prolific Memphis-based and Black-owned Hooks Brothers Photography Studio (1907-1979) whose photographs are a rich visual record of Black, middle-class life in the city during the twentieth century.

This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and co-curated by Christine Y. Kim, Britton Family Curator at Large, North American Art, Tate Modern and Liz Andrews, Director, Spelman College Museum of Fine Art. It is curated at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art by Patricia Lee Daigle, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Black American Portraits is generously presented by Bank of America

The 901 Black American Portraits Soundtrack

Listen to a soundtrack of Memphis music that exemplifies Black Love, Power, and Joy. The 901 Black American Portraits Soundtrack celebrates the vibrant legacy and future of Black musicians in the city of Memphis. This playlist was curated by Jared “Jay B” Boyd, a Memphis-based multimedia artist, journalist, DJ, and on-air personality.

Exhibition Programs

Saturday
2 Sep
2023
10:00 am

Super Saturday: Black American Portraits

The first Saturday of every month at your art museum is Super Saturday! From 10a - 12p we will have free admission and art making led by an art educator. For the month of September we will celebrate and explore our special exhibition 'Black American Portraits'

Free for members | Free with registration
Event Details
Friday
22 Sep
2023
5:00 pm

Bisa Butler in Conversation

Join us for a conversation with renowned contemporary textile artist Bisa Butler moderated by Patricia Lee Daigle, MBMA Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. The reception will begin at 5p, with the talk to begin promptly after at 6p.

$10 Members | $20 General Admission
Event Details
Thursday
12 Oct
2023
6:00 pm

Collecting and Community: Dr. Liz Andrews and Bernard Lumpkin

Join us on October 12 at 6p for a lively conversation on collecting art with Dr.Liz Andrews, Executive Director of Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, and Bernard Lumpkin, contemporary art collector, patron, and educator.

Free with registration
Event Details
Wednesday
13 Sep
2023
6:00 pm

Gallery Talk with curator Efe Igor Coleman

Join us on September 13 from 6:00 - 7:00p for a special Black American Portraits gallery talk, led by Efe Igor Coleman, Blackmon Perry Assistant Curator of African American Art & Art of the African Diaspora at the Brooks Museum

Free with Museum Admission
Event Details
Thursday
12 Oct
2023
10:00 am

Home(From)School Day: Black American Portraits

Come join us on Thursday October 12 from 10:00a - 1:00p, for homeschool day. You will be able to learn about the special exhibition, ' Black American Portraits' and create your own masterpiece in the studio!

Free with registration
Event Details
Saturday
11 Nov
2023
2:00 pm

Gallery Talk with Ziggy Mack & Jamond Bullock

Have you ever wondered what artists think about other artists’ work? Join us for a gallery talk in the Black American Portraits exhibition, led as a conversation between two local artists, Ziggy Mack & Jamond Bullock.

Free with Museum Admission
Event Details
Wednesday
6 Dec
2023
6:00 pm

Gallery Talk with Dr. Earnestine Jenkins

Join us on December 6 at 6p as Dr. Jenkins discusses the ways that race and image intersect in this powerful exhibition, through photography, painting, sculpture, and more.

Free with general admission
Event Details
Saturday
4 Nov
2023
1:00 pm

Mixed Media Workshop led by teaching artist Eric Echols

Take a creative journey into the Black American Portraits exhibition through this three-hour workshop, led by teaching artist Eric Echols on November 4.

$20 Members | $30 General admission
Event Details
Saturday
30 Sep
2023
10:00 am

Teacher Workshop in partnership with RiverArtsFest

Teachers, join us on Saturday September 30 from 10:00a - 1:00p for this FREE workshop in partnership with River Arts Fest to learn more about 'Black American Portraits'.

Free with registration
Event Details
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Artist

Curators

Artist

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Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art

Dr. Patricia Daigle

Patricia Lee Daigle is the Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. She previously served as Director of The Martha and Robert Fogelman Galleries of Contemporary Art at the University of Memphis and Curatorial Assistant in Contemporary Art at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Daigle received her Ph.D. in the History of Art and Architecture from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Dr. Patricia Daigle

Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art

Dr. Patricia Daigle

Patricia Lee Daigle is the Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. She previously served as Director of The Martha and Robert Fogelman Galleries of Contemporary Art at the University of Memphis and Curatorial Assistant in Contemporary Art at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Daigle received her Ph.D. in the History of Art and Architecture from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Blackmon Perry Assistant Curator of African American Art and Art of the African Diaspora

Efe Igor Coleman

Efe Igor Coleman is the Blackmon Perry Assistant Curator of African American Art and Art of the African Diaspora at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. She previously served as the Assistant Director of Academic Engagement at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Coleman is currently a Ph.D Candidate at Yale University.

Efe Igor Coleman

Blackmon Perry Assistant Curator of African American Art and Art of the African Diaspora

Efe Igor Coleman

Efe Igor Coleman is the Blackmon Perry Assistant Curator of African American Art and Art of the African Diaspora at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. She previously served as the Assistant Director of Academic Engagement at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Coleman is currently a Ph.D Candidate at Yale University.

Program Recordings

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Resources

The 901 Black American Portraits Soundtrack

The 901 Black American Portraits Soundtrack

Listen to a soundtrack of Memphis music that exemplifies Black Love, Power, and Joy. The 901 Black American Portraits Soundtrack celebrates the vibrant legacy and future of Black musicians in the city of Memphis. This playlist was curated by Jared “Jay B” Boyd, a Memphis-based multimedia artist, journalist, DJ, and on-air personality.

Listen Now

MCA Exhibition Questionnaire

MCA Exhibition Questionnaire

Help us generate the fullest picture possible of the MCA experience.
Submitting a questionnaire, which includes a request for an image of an artwork, is essential to be considered for part of the exhibition.

Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?

Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?

The American art theorist Linda Nochlin (1931-2017) posed this question as the title of a pioneering article in 1971. This essay was considered one of the first major works of Feminist art history, it has become a set text for those who study art internationally, and it is influential in many other fields.

Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? by Linda Nochlin