August 27th 2023.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, or the MET, is set to host a breathtaking exhibition in 2024 that pays tribute to the great Black artists of the early 20th century. Titled "The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism", the exhibition is set to run from February 25th to July 28th.
This monumental collection of works will be on loan from a number of HBCUs nationwide, and is considered to be the most comprehensive survey of these works for the city of New York in almost 40 years. Denise Murrell, the Met's curator, spoke on the museum's enthusiasm for the exhibition and the conversation it will spark.
"We want to show the full breadth of thinking," Murrell said. "In terms of historical context, this is the first time in art history where we have a cohort of African American artists depicting modern Black life in a modern way. These artists decided to commit their artistic careers to representing modern Black life in the absence of institutional or market support."
The Met has a long history of excluding Black artists from its exhibitions. This exhibition, however, is attempting to rectify that legacy and celebrate the art of the Harlem Renaissance. Works such as "Woman in Blue" by William H. Johnson, and sculptures by Augusta Savage, will be part of the collection.
Murrell described the inspiration behind the pieces of art, calling it a "radical modernity" to focus on the everyday lives of those marginalized.
"Becoming painters of modern life within their own communities was key to what the Harlem artists were attempting," Murrell continued. "It was an act of radical modernity, for example, to make portraits of an elder Black woman who would have been born into enslavement. And to make them in such a dignified way — those images simply did not exist in previous periods."
The Harlem Renaissance Exhibition is sure to be a captivating experience, and the MET is eagerly awaiting its opening in 2024.
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