Trees in the Field
Mixed meia on masonite panel, 1967
Signed on the right edge oif the image (see photo)
One from a series of similar examples, all with caligraphic trees and figures surrounding the composition.
Part of the late 1960’s Black Emergency Cultural Coalition along with Benny Andrews
The Black Emergency Cultural Coalition Inc. (BECC) was organized in January 1969 by a group of African American artists in response to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Harlem on My Mind" exhibit, which omitted the contributions of African American painters and sculptors to the Harlem community. Members of this initial group that protested against the exhibit included several prominent African American artists, including Benny Andrews and Clifford R. Joseph, cofounders of the BECC. The primary goal of the group was to agitate for change in the major art museums in New York City for greater representation of African American artists and their work in these museums.
Condition: Excellent
Image size: 12 5/8 x 10 inches
Board size: 20 x 16 inches
Frame size: 21 x 17 inches
Russ Thompson (Born 1922- Jamaica
Part of the late 1960’s Black Emergency Cultural Coalition along with Benny Andrews
The Black Emergency Cultural Coalition Inc. (BECC) was organized in January 1969 by a group of African American artists in response to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Harlem on My Mind" exhibit, which omitted the contributions of African American painters and sculptors to the Harlem community. Members of this initial group that protested against the exhibit included several prominent African American artists, including Benny Andrews and Clifford R. Joseph, cofounders of the BECC. The primary goal of the group was to agitate for change in the major art museums in New York City for greater representation of African American artists and their work in these museums.
Studied: Pratt Inst.; Carlyle College; NY Sch. Mod. Photography
Exhibited: MoMA; BM, 1968; Nordness Gals., NYC; Phila. Civic Center; Ruder & Finn FA, 1969; Smithsonian Inst.; Mount Holyoke College, 1969; BMFA, 1970; RISD, 1969; Mem. Art Gal., Rochester, NY, 1969; SFMA, 1969; Contemp. Arts Mus., Houston, TX, 1970; NJ State Mus., 1970; Roberson Center for the Arts & Sciences, Binghampton, NY, 1970; UC Santa Barbara, 1970; Plaza Hotel, NYC; Westchester Art Soc. Gal. (prize); Nassau Community College; Brooklyn Pub. Lib.; Allentown (PA) Art Festival; Quinnipiac College, CT; Parrish Art Mus.; NY State Pavillion; Huntington Township Art Lg. Awards: Mitchell College, CT; BM; Armonk Lib. Show Award; Bedford Hills Lib. Show Award.
Sources: Cederholm, Afro-American Artists.
Public Collections:
Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Brooklyn Museum
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Exhibitions: MOMA
Brooklyn Museum, 1968
Nordness Galleries, NYC
Smithsonian Institution
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1970
Rhode Island School of Design, 1969
San Francisco Museum of Art, 1969
Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, 1970
Parrish Art Museum
Courtesy of Afro-American Artist; a biographical directory
THOMPSON, RUSS (Born Jamaica, 1922)
Painter. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, 1922.
Studied at the Pratt Institute; Carlyle College;
New York School of Modern Photography.
Works: Cloud Flowers ; My Breath Is One
with the Clouds ; The Acrobats; Relatives;
Thoreau; Clothes to the Body; America- Amer-
ica; Hanging Garden; Poor Room, Rich Room;
Epigram a Bromide; Passage, 1969 (wood,
epoxy, iron).
Exhibited: Museum of Modern Art; Brooklyn
Museum Fence Show, 1968; Nordness Gal-
leries, NY; Phila. Civic Center; Ruder & Finn
Fine Arts, 1969; Smithsonian Institution; Mount
Holyoke College, 1969; Boston Museum of
Fine Arts, 1970; Rhode Island School of
Design, 1969; Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester,
NY, 1969; San Francisco Museum of Art, 1969;
Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, 1970;
NJ State Museum, 1970; Roberson Center for
the Arts & Sciences, Binghamton, NY, 1970;
Art Galleries, Univ. of Cal. at Santa Barbara,
1970; Plaza Hotel, NYC; Westchester Art So-
ciety Gallery; Nassau Community College;
Brooklyn Public Library; Allentown (Pa.) Art
Festival; Quinnipiac College; Parrish Art Mu-
seum; NY State Pavillion; Huntington Town-
ship Art League.
Collections: Frederick Douglass Institute, Wash-
ington, DC; Spiro & Levinson Corp.; Mr.
William Haber; Mr. & Mrs. B. Friedman;
Mr. & Mrs. Samuel J. Rosen; Mr. David
Scribner; Unigraphic Corp.; Mr. Benny An-
drews; Jeanne Paris; Mr. & Mrs. Joseph
Strauss.
Awards: Westchester Art Society; Mitchell
College, Conn.; Brooklyn Museum; Armonk
Library Show Award; Bedford Hills Library
Show Award.
Sources: Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Afro-
American Artists: New York/ Boston, 1970;
Nordness Galleries. 12 Afro-American Artists,
1969; Mount Holyoke College. Ten Afro-
American Artists, 1969; Ghent, Henri. “The
Community Art Gallery,” Art Gallery, April
1970; Paris, Jean. “Black Art Experience in
Art,” Long Island Press, Jamaica, NY, June 14,
1970; Ruder & Finn Fine Arts. Contemporary
Black Artists’, Brooklyn College. Afro-Amer-
ican Artists: Since 1950, 1969; Walker, Roslyn.
A Resource Guide to the Visual Arts of Afro-
Americans, South Bend, Ind., 1971.
NEW YORK (NY). Acts of Art, Inc.
Rebuttal to Whitney Museum Exhibition: Black Artists in Rebuttal at Acts of Art Gallery.
1971.
Unpag. (20 pp.) exhib. cat., 54 b&w illus., brief biogs. of 48 artists. The text consists of an unsigned foreword (probably by Nigel L.
Jackson, director of Acts of Art); a reprint of Z. D. Allen's review of the exhibition, "Rebuttal to the Whitney," from Chelsea Clinton
News (Apr. 15, 1971). The catalogue was published after the show opened. Artists included: Benny Andrews, James Belfon, Betty
Blayton, Lynn (Chuck) Bowers, Vivian Browne, Calvin Burnett, Jo Butler, Robert Carter, Art Coppedge, Adger Cowans, Joseph
Delaney, J. Brooks Dendy, III, James Denmark, Reginald Gammon, Moses Paul Groves, Lester Gunter, Byron Hall, William Charles
Henderson, II, Leon Hicks, Nigel L. Jackson, Kenneth Vrook Johnson, Cliff Joseph, Philip Martin, Kenneth Matthews, Richard
Mayhew, Dindga McCannon, Alexander S. McMath, Ademola Olugebefola, William Payne, James Phillips, Kenneth Radcliffe, Junius
Redwood, Enid Richardson, Gregory Ridley, Jr., Haywood (Bill) Rivers, Donald J. Robertson, Philippe G. Smith, Ann Tanksley, Bob
Thompson, Russell Thompson, Robert Threadgill, Lloyd Toone, Bennie White, Timothy Wilkins, Walter H. Williams, Ed Wilson,
Frank W. Wimberley, Hale Woodruff. Sq. 8vo, stapled tan wraps, lettered in brown, illus. of wire sculpture by James Denmark..
BOSTON (MA). Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists.
Afro-American Artists: New York and Boston.
May 19-June 23, 1970.
92 pp. exhib. cat, 67 b&w illus. of work by 69 artists, exhib. checklist. Intro. by Edmund B. Gaither. Important early exhibition.
Includes Emma Amos, Benny Andrews, Ellsworth Ausby, Malcolm Bailey, Ellen Banks, Romare Bearden, Robert Blackburn, Betty
Blayton, Ronald Boutte, Lynn Bowers, Frank Bowling, Marvin Brown, Calvin Burnett, Dana C. Chandler, John Chandler, Barbara
Chase-Riboud, Ed Clark, Eldzier Cortor, Ernest Crichlow, Emilio Cruz, Avel DeKnight, Henry DeLeon, Stanley Pinckney, James
Denmark, Reginald Gammon, Felrath Hines, Alvin C. Hollingsworth, Bill Howell, Zell Ingram, Gerald Jackson, Daniel L. Johnson,
Milton Johnson, Ben Jones, Lois Mailou Jones, Tonnie O. Jones, Cliff Joseph, Harriet Kennedy, Hughie Lee-Smith, Norman Lewis,
Tom Lloyd, Al Loving, Richard Mayhew, Edward McCluney, Jr., Algernon Miller, Joe Overstreet, Louise Parks, Stanley Pinckney,
Jerry Pinkney, John W. Rhoden, Bill Rivers, Mahler Ryder, Raymond Saunders, Thomas Sills, Al Smith, Vincent D. Smith, Richard
Stroud, Alma Thomas, Bob Thompson, Lovett Thompson, Russ Thompson, Lloyd Toone, Luther Vann, Paul Waters...
Category
1960s American Modern Abstract Paintings
