The African American art world has had a profound, but sometimes overlooked effect on the American community throughout history.

African American artists have chronicled the struggles and achievements of African Americans over the past hundreds of years. The University of Southern California states that “African-American artists have probably received less attention than their counterparts in literature and music, but their contributions have also been significant in the development of American culture.” Many African American artists have documented their American experience through painting, writing, architecture, and many other forms of art. Paul R. Williams was one of those artists. An architect who was born in 1894, he became one of the foremost architects in southern California. He created an astonishing number of projects in his 60-year career. Williams designed more than 2,000 residences and many commercial buildings both in Southern California and elsewhere. Many of Williams’ projects were very high-profile projects. The famous Shrine Auditorium, the Hollywood YMCA and the Los Angeles County Courthouse are three designs that have propelled this architect into the realm of the elite. Williams’ effect on American architecture has continued since his death in 1980. Among Williams’ other projects are the United Nations Building in Paris, the MCA Building in Beverly Hills, CA, and Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills CA. All these buildings are worth a visit to see the Williams style.

Many African American artists have used African themes in their art. One of those artists is Claude Clark. Born in 1945, Clark has been on the African American art scene for over 50 years. His place in art history was cemented by his leadership in the 1960s during the civil rights struggles. Clark studied art under Dr. Albert C Barnes between the years 1939 and 1944. Dr. Barnes was a well-known art collector. Barnes founded the Barnes School of Art through his foundation in Merion, Pennsylvania. It was during this time with Barnes that Claude Clark honed his painting skills and became interested in African art. Clark also enjoyed painting on themes of the struggles of African Americans in the Deep South and also enjoyed painting Caribbean subjects. In later years, Claude Clark taught as an Associate Professor of Art Talladega College in the 1940s and 1950s. Claude Clark enjoyed a long career, dying in 2001.

Many believe that the most prominent African-American painter in the history of the United States was Jacob Lawrence. Lawrence’s work was based primarily on United States history and documented the themes of slavery and racial oppression. Lawrence was one of the first African-American painters to gain national prominence. His paintings have kept him in public view for the better part of 60 years. Lawrence gained popularity from a very young age. When he was 20 years old, Lawrence gained national attention for his exhibition titled “The Negro Migration.” This was a series of 60 paintings that was sold to the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Phillips Collection in Washington DC. Lawrence was an integral part of the great Harlem Renaissance. He studied at the Harlem Art Workshop, where he met many like-minded artists who shaped his work for years to come. It was during these years that he met the painter Gwendolyn Knight, who became his wife for the next 59 years. Lawrence’s most famous work was titled The Migration Series. The series begins and ends with the images of the railway station. The work shows the South and represents the migration to the North and the massive number of African Americans who make this journey. The project shows the desperation of working in agriculture in the South and the hardships suffered. The paintings show the poverty and motivation that gave African Americans the need to move north. When the paintings represent the North, they show the exploitation of African Americans in dangerous industries and harsh living conditions. The hope for a better life is the motivation that kept them going, but the struggles are the same as in the South with just a different location and a different environment. All of these artists are just a few of the many African Americans who had a profound effect on the American art world in the last century. His art lives on to tell the stories of the African American experience.