Description
Born Bay St. Louis, MississippiThe Harmon Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in New York City and active from 1922 to 1967, included this portrait in its exhibition “Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin.” To demonstrate its goal of social equality and document noteworthy African Americans’ contributions to the country, the foundation had sought portraits from an African American artist, Laura Wheeler Waring, and a Euro-American artist, Betsy Graves Reyneau. The exhibition toured the country for ten years. By 1946, sculptor Richmond Barthé was very well-known in New York City. Reyneau depicted him in his studio with a figure of Jesus Christ titled Come Unto Me. When he completed the work in 1947, Barthé donated it to St. Jude’s Church in Montgomery, Alabama.Nacido en Bay St. Louis, MississippiLa Harmon Foundation, entidad filantrópica activa entre 1922 y 1967 con sede en New York, incluyó este retrato en su exposición “Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin”. A tono con sus aspiraciones de igualdad social y de documentar las vidas de afroamericanos notables, la fundación había encargado los retratos a una artista afroamericana, Laura Wheeler Waring, y a otra euroamericana, Betsy Graves Reyneau. La exposición viajó por la nación a lo largo de diez años. En 1946, el escultor Richmond Barthé era muy conocido en la ciudad de New York. Reyneau lo pintó en su estudio, junto a una imagen de Cristo titulada Come Unto Me (Venid a Mí). Cuando terminó la escultura en 1947, Barthé la donó a la iglesia St....
Image
Oil On Canvas
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the Harmon Foundation
