Oct 5, 2025 - Jan 11, 2026
Black Artists in America
From the Bicentennial to September 11
From the Bicentennial to September 11
Black Artists in America: From the Bicentennial to September 11 is an exhibition exploring works by Black artists made during the transitional moment from the late 1970s to the dawn of the 21st century. The exhibition picks up where the Dixon Gallery and Gardens's 2023 exhibition Black Artists in America: From Civil Rights to the Bicentennial (on view at the Crocker in early 2024) left off, the second in a three-part series. The third chapter of the exhibition continues to consider the ways in which Black American artists challenged the cultural, environmental, political, racial, and social issues of the last decades of the 20th century. The exhibition is curated by Dr. Earnestine Lovelle Jenkins and includes more than 50 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper from public and private collections across the country.
Ernie Barnes (American, 1938–2009), Saturday Night, Durham, North Carolina, 1974. Oil on canvas 36 x 48 1/8 in. The Johnson Collection, Spartanburg, SC. © Ernie Barnes.
We are excited to present the concluding chapter of the Black Artists in America exhibition series. Dr. Jenkins’s extensive research situates key works from the Crocker’s collection within a broader national context, illuminating the vital role that artists played in shaping the cultural landscape of the late twentieth century.
Francesca Wilmott, PhD.
Curator
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Black Artists in America: From the Bicentennial to September 11 features work from artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Loïs Mailou Jones, Jacob Lawrence, Whitfield Lovell, Samella Lewis, Dindga McCannon, and Jennifer Ray.
The exhibition—organized by Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis—includes more than fifty paintings, sculptures, and works on paper drawn from public and private collections across the country. An accompanying catalogue featuring essays by Dr. Jenkins, Dr. Julie McGee, Dr. Ellen Daugherty, and Kevin Sharp will be published by Yale University Press and will be available in the Crocker Art Museum Store.
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