Impressions and Improvisations: The Prints of Romare Bearden

A twentieth-century master of collage and printmaking, Romare Bearden (1911–1988) was also arguably that century’s most influential African American artist. This is the first exhibition to focus on Bearden’s printmaking alone. It includes 75 vividly colored graphic works—etchings, engravings, aquatints, lithographs, collagraphs, screenprints, photo projections, and monotypes—all created over a span of thirty years. The exhibition also features some working print plates and proofs that reveal the artist’s creative process.

Thoroughly acquainted with abstract modern art, Bearden chose to retain recognizable compositions for his preferred subjects: rural life in North Carolina, urban New York, Caribbean scenes, jazz culture, modern family life, and biblical and mythological tales. He became a cultural hero because of his influential writings as an art critic, his work as an arts organizer, and his role as spokesman for African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance and mid- twentieth century.

The Romare Bearden Foundation organized the exhibition, and Pomegranate Communication published an illustrated catalogue.