A History of Africa American Artists: From 1792 to the Present.

Many People think that the only gifts the late and renowned African-American artist Romare Bearden left the world were his magnificent paintings and prints. They are happily mistaken. Bearden was an ardent student of African-American art history and, before his death of 76 in 1988, he was writing A Histosy of African American Artists: From 1792 to the Present, with the assistance of journalist Harry Henderson.

This sweeping and analytical book, which Henderson finished, is a comprehensive survey of the lives and works of more than 50 African-American artists from 1792 to the present. Bearden, who received the National Medal of Arts in 1987, showcases the often-ignored vision of these painters, engravers and sculptors in more than 420 magnificent black-and-white illustrations and 61 color reproductions.

But the book is more than an artistic overview. Bearden also documents how the work of African-American artists has always reflected or reacted to prevailing domestic and international artistic, social and political trends. For example, in the 19th century, Henry Ossawa Tanner broke with tradition and became the first artist to create non-stereotypical black portraits. Thirty years later, the Harlem Renaissance-era sculptor Augusta Savage subordinated her own talent to teach art to black children. Selftaught artist Horace Pippin captured daily black life in his naive paintings during the 1930s and 1940s. Painter Jacob Lawrence delineated the joys and hardships of the great black migration north.

These artists, many classically trained, realized, as Bearden emphasizes, that their African-American heritage was a source of strength and beauty for their work. Bearden's book is an inspiration and a treasure that belongs in your collection.