Norman Lewis (1909 - 1979)

from Masterworks of the African Diaspora

Charles Alston (1907 - 1977)

In the 1940s, after the renowned government program Worker's Progress Administration (WPA) ended, Lewis started teaching at the newly built George Washington Carver School in Harlem alongside Elizabeth Catlett and Charles White. During this time, his style also evolved gradually into a more abstract one with the use of calligraphic lines and loose representations.

Title Unknown, dated 1945, emphasizes the Cubist and abstract influences Lewis was beginning to experiment with in his own practice. Employing bright red, pink, orange, green, and blue, Lewis transitioned the colors from right to left with black linear curves generating gestures. As a recipient of many public awards and exhibitor of prestigious international exhibitions, Lewis was recognized by art critics alongside other abstract expressionists such as Ad Reinhardt and Mark Tobey. However, at the same time, Lewis struggled with his invisibility among the group; only posthumously has he been recognized as the only African American artist in the Abstract Expressionist movement. Therefore, his own experiences within the larger social community drew him closer to his African American peers; he remained close and co-founded the Spiral Group in 1963 with Romare Bearden, Alston, and Hale Woodruff.

Provenance

Norman Lewis Estate, New York, NY