Harlem Artists Guild

Organization for African-American artists

The Harlem Artists Guild (1935–1941) was an African-American organization founded by artists including Augusta Savage, Charles Alston, Elba Lightfoot, Louise E. Jefferson and historian Arthur Schomburg[1][2] with the aims of encouraging young talent, providing a forum for the discussion of the visual arts in the community, fostering understanding between artists and the public through education towards an appreciation of art, focusing on issues of general concern to Black artists such as racism, poverty and unemployment, and cooperating with agencies to improve conditions and raise standards of living and achievement among African-American artists.[3][4] It is said to have had its origins in the dissatisfaction of African-American artists with the activities of the Harmon Foundation,[5] and was described by co-founder Alston as "a pressure group to get more black artists on the federal projects."[3] The Guild laid the foundation for later civil rights-era cultural movements by promoting self-representation and group activism in addition to fostering creative growth.

## History

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Formed in early 1935 by artists including Augusta Savage, Charles Alston and Elba Lightfoot, the Harlem Artists Guild (HAG) had headquarters on 136th Street, New York. HAG strategies included pressurizing the Federal Arts Project of the Works Progress Administration to accept more African-American participants.[3] Racial exclusion and the necessity for a structured support network for Black artists during the Great Depression led to the founding of the Guild. The constitution on the Guild stated in part: "We, the artists of Harlem, being aware of the need to act collectively in the solution of the cultural, economic, social and professional problems that confront us, do hereby constitute ourselves an organization that shall be known as the Harlem Artists Guild."[4] Members included Romare Bearden,[6] Gwendolyn Bennett, Aaron Douglas, Norman Lewis, and some others; by 1937 the membership had grown to about 90 and the Guild was putting on exhibitions that included Jacob Lawrence.[4]

From discussions among HAG artists about the necessity for, and ways to bring about, the establishment of a permanent art center for Harlem came the idea for the Harlem Community Art Center, which opened at the end of 1937,[7] and of which Gwendolyn Bennett was Director from 1938 to 1941.[8] The Harlem Artists Guild began holding its meetings at the center and held shows by members. The center provided free education in painting, drawing, sculpting, and design, and evolved into a venue for artistic training, community development, and cultural preservation.

## Further reading

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* Calo, Mary Ann (October 2005). "A Community Art Center for Harlem: The Cultural Politics of 'Negro Art' Initiatives in the Early 20th Century". Prospects, Vol. 29, 155–183. doi:10.1017/S0361233300001721. Cambridge University Press.

## References

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1. ^ Sharon F. Patton, "Negro art organizations" Archived 2024-04-28 at the Wayback Machine, African-American Art, Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 147.
2. ^ King, Jana. "Louise E. Jefferson's Design Journey". AIGA | the professional association for design. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
3. ^ a b c Wintz, Carrie D.; Paul Finkelman, eds. (2004). "Second Harlem Renaissance". Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance. Vol. 1\. New York: Routledge. p. 1100\. ISBN 0-203-31930-3. Archived from the original on April 28, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
4. ^ a b c "Harlem Artists Guild" Archived 2016-05-05 at the Wayback Machine, Harlem’s Artistic Community in the 1930s", p. 26.
5. ^ Mary Ann Calo, Distinction and Denial: Race, Nation, and the Critical Construction of the African American Artist, 1920–40 Archived 2024-04-28 at the Wayback Machine, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2007, pp. 95–97.
6. ^ "Artists of the Harlem Renaissance" Archived 2013-05-07 at the Wayback Machine, Archives of American Art, Thursday, February 17, 2011.
7. ^ Stacy I. Morgan, Rethinking Social Realism: African American Art and Literature, 1930–1953 Archived 2024-04-28 at the Wayback Machine, University of Georgia Press, 2004, p. 30.
8. ^ "Exhibit | The Arts At Page Library" Archived 2024-04-28 at the Wayback Machine, Winter 2017.