Object Details
- Artist
- James Amos Porter, 22 Dec 1905 - 28 Feb 1970
- Sitter
- James Amos Porter, 22 Dec 1905 - 28 Feb 1970
- Exhibition Label
- Born Baltimore, Maryland
- An influential artist and art historian, James A. Porter founded the field of African American art history. He chaired Howard University’s Art Department and directed the university’s art gallery from 1953 until his death in 1970. Porter championed unrecognized African American artists through organized exhibitions and published work. His influential Modern Negro Art (1943) placed African American art in the context of the history of modernism for the first time. Porter studied in France, Cuba, and Haiti and traveled in West Africa, Egypt, and Brazil. These trips abroad influenced his work, which was included during his lifetime in exhibitions at major institutions, including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Museum of Modern Art.
- Nacido en Baltimore, Maryland
- El influyente pintor e historiador del arte James A. Porter fundó el campo de la historia del arte afroamericano. Dirigió el Departamento de Arte de la Universidad Howard, y la galería de exposiciones de dicha institución, desde 1953 hasta su muerte en 1970. A través de sus publicaciones y las exposiciones que organizaba, Porter también promovió a numerosos artistas afroamericanos ignorados. Su prestigioso libro Modern Negro Art (1943) ubicó por primera vez al arte afroamericano en el contexto de la historia del modernismo. Porter estudió en Francia, Cuba y Haití, y viajó por el oeste de África, Egipto y Brasil. Estos periplos por el extranjero influenciaron su obra pictórica, la cual en vida del artista fue expuesta en importantes instituciones como Corcoran Gallery of Art, Detroit Institute of Arts y Museum of Modern Art.
- Provenance
- The artist; his wife Dorothy Porter Wesley, Washington, D.C.; gift 1992 to NPG
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Dorothy Porter Wesley
- 1957
- Object number
- NPG.92.31
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Painting
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Stretcher: 76.4 × 56.2cm (30 1/16 × 22 1/8")
- Frame: 90.8 × 70 × 8.4 cm (35 3/4 × 27 9/16 × 3 5/16")
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- Location
- Currently not on view
- National Portrait Gallery
- Topic
- Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair
- Interior\Interior with Exterior View
- Art implements\Paintbrush
- Architecture\Building
- Self-portrait
- James Amos Porter: Male
- James Amos Porter: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer
- James Amos Porter: Arts and Culture\Visual Arts\Artist\Painter
- James Amos Porter: Arts and Culture\Education and Scholarship\Educator\Professor\University
- James Amos Porter: Arts and Culture\Visual Arts\Artist\Painter\Muralist
- James Amos Porter: Arts and Culture\Visual Arts\Art historian
- Portrait
- Record ID
- npg_NPG.92.31
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm476220a6a-b83a-43ab-ba67-905a9184941e
