Previous Era Next Era

40000 BCEUpper Paleolithic Neolithic Norte Chico Civilization Indus Valley Civilization Bronze Age Iron Age0 CE

4000 BCEAncient Egypt Mesopotamia Aegean Civilizations Ancient China Kingdom of Kush Lapita Expansion Olmec Civilization The Celts Ancient Greece The Etruscans Ancient Rome The Iberians Teotihuacan Culture Classical India500 CE

300 CEByzantine Art Medieval Art Tang Dynasty Medieval Persian Art Islamic Dynastic Art Viking Age Classical Oceania Igbo-Ukwu Khmer Art Song Dynasty Gothic Art Inca Empire Yuan Dynasty The Aztecs1500

Age of Exploration

1300Italian Renaissance Ming Dynasty Kingdom of Kongo Northern Renaissance Kingdom of Benin Spanish Renaissance Mughal Art Mannerism Baroque Edo Period Qing Dynasty Academic Art The Enlightenment Western Esoteric Art Rococo Neoclassicism1850

Industrial Revolution

1800Oceanic Art Romanticism Orientalism Hudson River School Early Photography Barbizon School Pre Raphaelites Realism Impressionism Meiji Art Early Modernism Post-Impressionism1900

Contemporary Art

1960Pop Art Post Modernism Shona Sculpture Contemporary Indigenous Australian Art Zaire School of Popular Painting2020

Harlem Renaissance

An explosion of black culture in America

Horace Pippin, The Artists

Horace Pippin

Augusta Savage, The Artists

Augusta Savage

Sculptor, teacher and warrior for civil rights

Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, The Artists

Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller

Delicate Sculptor of Horrors

William H. Johnson, The Artists

William H. Johnson

Painting my people

Palmer Hayden, The Artists

Palmer Hayden

Charles Alston, The Artists

Charles Alston

"The idea of a march was growing"

Aaron Douglas, The Artists

Aaron Douglas

Projections of determination

Beauford Delaney, The Artists

Beauford Delaney

Capturing the sacred light

Charles White, The Artists

Charles White

Images of dignity

Archibald Motley, The Artists

Archibald Motley

James Van Der Zee, The Artists

James Van Der Zee

Don't just document, celebrate

Romare Bearden, The Artists

Romare Bearden

Loïs Mailou Jones, The Artists

Loïs Mailou Jones

The joy of African color and design

Jacob Lawrence, The Artists

Jacob Lawrence

Gwendolyn Knight, The Artists

Gwendolyn Knight

“No one can tell us who we are”

Kate and Rachel Van Der Zee, Lenox, Mass., James Van Der Zee

Kate and Rachel Van Der Zee, Lenox, Mass.

James Van Der Zee, 1907

Cousin, Suzie Porter, New York City, James Van Der Zee

Cousin, Suzie Porter, New York City

James Van Der Zee, 1914

Peace Halting the Ruthlessness of War, Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller

Peace Halting the Ruthlessness of War

Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, 1917

Nude, Harlem, James Van Der Zee

Nude, Harlem

James Van Der Zee, 1923

Garveyite Family, Harlem, James Van Der Zee

Garveyite Family, Harlem

James Van Der Zee, 1924

Cocktails, Archibald Motley

Cocktails

Archibald Motley, 1926

Defiance, from The Emperor Jones series, Aaron Douglas

Defiance, from The Emperor Jones series

Aaron Douglas, 1926

Flight, from The Emperor Jones series, Aaron Douglas

Flight, from The Emperor Jones series

Aaron Douglas, 1926

The Creation, Aaron Douglas

The Creation

Aaron Douglas, 1927

The Judgment Day, Aaron Douglas

The Judgment Day

Aaron Douglas, 1927

Blues, Archibald Motley

Blues

Archibald Motley, 1929

Gamin, Augusta Savage

Gamin

Augusta Savage, 1929

Lazy Bones, Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller

Lazy Bones

Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, c. 1930

Nous Quatre a Paris, Palmer Hayden

Nous Quatre a Paris

Palmer Hayden, c. 1930

Reverie, Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller

Reverie

Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, c. 1930

The Janitor Who Paints, Palmer Hayden

The Janitor Who Paints

Palmer Hayden, c. 1930

Couple, Harlem, James Van Der Zee

Couple, Harlem

James Van Der Zee, 1932

Self-Portrait (Myself at Work), Archibald Motley

Self-Portrait (Myself at Work)

Archibald Motley, 1933

Black Belt, Archibald Motley

Black Belt

Archibald Motley, 1934

Gwendolyn Knight, Augusta Savage

Gwendolyn Knight

Augusta Savage, 1934-1935

Aspiration, Aaron Douglas

Aspiration

Aaron Douglas, 1936

Girl with Yellow Hat, Norman Lewis

Girl with Yellow Hat

Norman Lewis, 1936

Into Bondage, Aaron Douglas

Into Bondage

Aaron Douglas, 1936

Five Great American Negroes, Charles White

Five Great American Negroes

Charles White, 1939

Talking Skull, Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller

Talking Skull

Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, 1939

The Harp, Augusta Savage

The Harp

Augusta Savage, 1939

The Judgment Day, Aaron Douglas

The Judgment Day

Aaron Douglas, 1939

Blind Singer, William H. Johnson

Blind Singer

William H. Johnson, 1940

I Baptize Thee, William H. Johnson

I Baptize Thee

William H. Johnson, 1940

Children, William H. Johnson

Children

William H. Johnson, 1941

Meeting Place, Norman Lewis

Meeting Place

Norman Lewis, 1941

Migration Series No.1: During World War I there was a great migration north by southern African Americans, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.1: During World War I there was a great migration north by southern African Americans

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Migration Series No.2: The war had caused a labor shortage in northern industry. Citizens of foreign countries were returning to their native lands, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.2: The war had caused a labor shortage in northern industry. Citizens of foreign countries were returning to their native lands

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Migration Series No.3: From every southern town migrants left by the hundreds to travel north, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.3: From every southern town migrants left by the hundreds to travel north

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Migration Series No.4: All other sources of labor having been exhausted, the migrants were the last resource, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.4: All other sources of labor having been exhausted, the migrants were the last resource

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Migration Series No.5: Migrants were advanced passage on the railroads, paid for by northern industry. Northern industry was to be repaid by the migrants out of their future wages, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.5: Migrants were advanced passage on the railroads, paid for by northern industry. Northern industry was to be repaid by the migrants out of their future wages

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Migration Series No.6: The trains were crowded with migrants, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.6: The trains were crowded with migrants

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Migration Series No.7: The migrant, whose life had been rural and nurtured by the earth, was now moving to urban life dependent on industrial machinery, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.7: The migrant, whose life had been rural and nurtured by the earth, was now moving to urban life dependent on industrial machinery

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Migration Series No.8: Some left because of promises of work in the North. Others left because their farms had been devastated by floods, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.8: Some left because of promises of work in the North. Others left because their farms had been devastated by floods

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Migration Series No.9: They left because the boll weevil had ravaged the cotton crop, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.9: They left because the boll weevil had ravaged the cotton crop

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Migration Series No.10: They were very poor, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.10: They were very poor

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Migration Series No.11: Food had doubled in price because of the war, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.11: Food had doubled in price because of the war

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Migration Series No.12: The railroad stations were at times so crowded with people leaving that special guards had to be called to keep order, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.12: The railroad stations were at times so crowded with people leaving that special guards had to be called to keep order

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Migration Series No.13: The crops were left to dry and rot. There was no one to tend them, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.13: The crops were left to dry and rot. There was no one to tend them

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Migration Series No.14: For African Americans there was no justice in the southern courts, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.14: For African Americans there was no justice in the southern courts

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Migration Series No.15: There were lynchings, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.15: There were lynchings

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Migration Series No.16: After a lynching the migration quickened, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.16: After a lynching the migration quickened

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Migration Series No.17: Tenant farmers received harsh treatment at the hands of the planter, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.17: Tenant farmers received harsh treatment at the hands of the planter

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Migration Series No.18: The migration gained in momentum, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.18: The migration gained in momentum

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Migration Series No.19: There had always been discrimination, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.19: There had always been discrimination

Jacob Lawrence, 1940-1941

Next Movement

Constructivism, Modernism

Constructivism

Art should only serve society.

Obelisk uses cookies to measure site usage, helping us understand our readers' interests and improve the site. By continuing to browse this site you agree to the use of cookies. Cookie Policy