Painter: Archibald Motley (1891-1981)
Via PBS.org
Self Portrait 1920 Oil on canvas
Born in 1891 in New Orleans and raised in Chicago, Motley knew as a child that he wanted to be an artist. He studied art at the Institute of Chicago and in 1928, became the second African American artist to have a solo exhibition in New York City. Motley’s early artistic endeavors include “Old Snuff Dipper”, a realistic portrait a working class southerner that won a Harmon Foundation award. After winning a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1929, Motley left for Paris where he painted Parisian genre scenes, including “Blues”. When Motley returned to Chicago in 1930, he began painting portraits and genre scenes of the African American community in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, home to most of the city’s African American population. Although he never lived in Harlem, his depiction of contemporary African American social life identified him with the Harlem Renaissance.
The Boys in the Back Room (Card Players) 1934 Oil on canvas
Portrait of my Mother 1931 Oil on canvas
Nightlife 1943 Oil on Canvas
Extra Paper (State Street Scene) 1946 Watercolor on paper
Brown Girl (After the Bath) 1931 Oil on canvas
Between Acts 1935 Oil on canvas.
Blues 1929 Oil on canvas
Black Belt 1934 Oil on canvas
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