African American Art

African-American art is a broad term describing visual art created by African Americans. The range of art they have created, and are continuing to create, over more than two centuries is as varied as the artists themselves.  African art encompasses the diverse and rich visual expressions originating from native Africa, with a primary focus on sub-Saharan Africa. This multifaceted artistry includes a wide array of media, such as sculpture, painting, pottery, rock art, textiles, masks, personal adornments, and jewelry.

In the early 20th century, the most important aesthetic movement in African American art was the Harlem Renaissance or the ‘New Negro’ movement of the 1920s. The Harlem district of New York became the ‘cultural capital of black America’.