Skip to main content

Henri Matisse Dancer Artworks

2
to
6
144
46
118
30
6
6
5
4
2
1
1
183
5
1
13
15
28
27
28
10
23
2
124
20
15
9
9
70
51
14
12
9
86
14
73
10
7
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
166
24
26
16
15
11
8
7
7
7
6
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
20
2
Sort By
Henri Matisse - Dancer on Wooden Armchair (Danseuse au Fauteuil en Bois), 1927
By Henri Matisse
Located in Hinsdale, IL
and depth. Henri Matisse is widely regarded as the greatest colorist of the 20th century and as a
Category

1920s Fauvist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

The Dancer, School Prints, Henri Matisse
By Henri Matisse
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
., London; Printed by W. S. Cowell Ltd., Ipswich, 1949. HENRI MATISSE (1869-1954) One of the undisputed
Category

1940s Modern Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Henri Matisse 'Creole Dancer' 1984- Lithograph
By Henri Matisse
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Paper Size: 47.5 x 31 inches ( 120.65 x 78.74 cm ) Image Size: 42 x 28 inches ( 106.68 x 71.12 cm ) Framed: No Condition: B: Very Good Condition, with signs of handling or age Supple...
Category

1980s Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Henri Matisse (After) - Lithograph - Flowers
By (after) Henri Matisse
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
after Henri MATISSE (1869-1954) Lithograph after a drawing of 1941 Printed signature and date
Category

1940s Modern Still-life Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Henri Matisse (After) - Lithograph - Flowers
By (after) Henri Matisse
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
after Henri MATISSE (1869-1954) Lithograph Signed in the plate Vélin Paper Dimensions: 32 x 24 cm
Category

1940s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Henri Matisse "La Capeline de paille d'Italie"
By Henri Matisse
Located in Los Angeles, CA
HENRI MATISSE (1869-1954) “La Capeline de paille d’Italie” Lithographs, 1923, 45x40 cm, image
Category

15th Century and Earlier Fauvist Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Exhibition Poster: Jacques Benador Gallery, Modern Lithograph Henri Matisse
By Henri Matisse
Located in Long Island City, NY
. The center of the composition features an image of a drawing by Henri Matisse of a dancer in a short
Category

1980s Nude Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Henri Matisse (After) - Lithograph - Pumpkin and Flowers
By (after) Henri Matisse
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
after Henri MATISSE (1869-1954) Lithograph after a drawing of 1941 Printed signature and date
Category

1940s Modern Still-life Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Henri Matisse (After) - Lithograph - Pumpkin and Flowers
By (after) Henri Matisse
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
after Henri MATISSE (1869-1954) Lithograph after a drawing of 1941 Printed signature and date Book
Category

1940s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Henri Matisse (After) - Lithograph - Woman with Flowers in Her Hair
By (after) Henri Matisse
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
after Henri MATISSE (1869-1954) Lithograph Signed in the plate Vélin Paper Dimensions: 32 x 24 cm
Category

1940s Modern Portrait Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Standing Dancer, Leaning from: Ten Dancers - Lithograph - French - Fauvism Art
By Henri Matisse
Located in London, GB
HENRI MATISSE 1869-1954 (Emile Benoît) Le Cateau-Cambrésis 1869-1954 Nice (French) Title: Standing
Category

1920s Post-Impressionist Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Christiane : Dancer - Lithograph Poster - Galerie Jacques Benador #Mourlot
By Henri Matisse
Located in Paris, FR
Henri MATISSE (after) Christiane - Dancer, 1980 Lithograph printed in MOURLOT studios Printed
Category

1980s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

The Circe Episode (Ulysses, PL.203)
By Henri Matisse
Located in Greenwich, CT
This etching on paper, 11.75 x 8.25" image size, is signed ‘Henri Matisse’ lower right, numbered
Category

1930s Modern Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching, Paper

The Cyclops (Ulysses, PL.205)
By Henri Matisse
Located in Greenwich, CT
This etching on paper, 11.75 x 8.25" image size, is signed ‘Henri Matisse’ lower right, numbered
Category

1930s Modern Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching, Paper

The Calypso Episode (Ulysses, PL.201)
By Henri Matisse
Located in Greenwich, CT
This etching on paper, 11.75 x 8.25", is signed ‘Henri Matisse’ lower right, numbered lower left
Category

1930s Modern Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching, Paper

Odalisque à la culotte de satin rouge
By Henri Matisse
Located in London, GB
Henri Matisse Odalisque à la culotte de satin rouge 1925 Lithograph on Chine paper, Edition of 50
Category

1920s Modern Nude Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Lithograph - Flowers
By (after) Henri Matisse
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
after Henri MATISSE (1869-1954) Lithograph after a drawing of 1941 Printed signature and date
Category

1940s Modern Still-life Prints

Materials

Lithograph

"Fan Shape with Dancers, " a Silkscreen
By Schomer Lichtner
Located in Milwaukee, WI
who started his career creating murals for the WPA inspired by Diego Rivera, Henri Matisse, and Raoul
Category

1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Screen

Limited Ed. St. Louis Art museum poster Hand Signed & dated by Roy Lichtenstein
By Roy Lichtenstein
Located in New York, NY
, making Impressionism, in his words, “industrial.”6 In Artist's Studio “The Dance”, Henri Matisse’s Dance
Category

1980s Pop Art Abstract Prints

Materials

Ink, Lithograph, Offset, Pencil, Graphite

Dancing (Orange and Blue) /// Contemporary Screenprint Nude Figurative Modern
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
, and shape. At age 5, he remembers his father cutting up a book of drawings by Henri Matisse and
Category

1970s Contemporary Figurative Prints

Materials

Paint, Acrylic, Monoprint

"Head with Cows and Dancers, " a Serigraph signed by Schomer Lichtner
By Schomer Lichtner
Located in Milwaukee, WI
Rivera, Henri Matisse, and Raoul Dufy. Lichtner worked with his wife, Ruth Grotenrath, to create lively
Category

1990s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Black and White

Anna
By Anastasia Kurakina company
Located in London, GB
; 'Like Henri Matisse and Italian Renaissance painters like Giotto, I experiment with the vibrant power of
Category

2010s Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper, Color, Digital

Clown et Enfant (Clown and Child) From the suite Cirque (Circus)
By Georges Rouault
Located in San Francisco, CA
, where with Matisse, he was a pupil of Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau, a brilliant and sympathetic
Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Figurative Prints

Materials

Aquatint

"Courtisane aux Yeux Baisses" from the suite "Les Fleurs du Mal""
By Georges Rouault
Located in San Francisco, CA
powerful imprint on his work. In 1891 he entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where with Matisse, he was a
Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Figurative Prints

Materials

Aquatint

Looking at Art With Alex Katz, hardback monograph hand signed by Alex Katz
By Alex Katz
Located in New York, NY
, Leonardo da Vinci, Peter Doig, Alberto Giacometti, Philip Guston, David Hockney, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró
Category

2010s Pop Art Figurative Prints

Materials

Mixed Media, Board, Offset, Lithograph, Ink, Paper

Jazzy
By Anastasia Kurakina
Located in London, GB
overflowing with emotions and dreams. 'Like Henri Matisse and Italian Renaissance painters like Giotto, I
Category

2010s Vienna Secession Figurative Prints

Materials

Color, Digital, Canvas

Jazzy
Jazzy
No Reserve
H 13.78 in W 19.69 in
Swiss Artist Large Color Symphony Silkscreen Serigraph Print Kinetic Op Art
Located in Surfside, FL
enthusiasm for jazz with Man Ray and Henri Matisse. These artists, while giving titles evoking this musical
Category

20th Century Op Art Abstract Prints

Materials

Lithograph, Screen

Living Painting - Colour Pochoir
By (after) Sonia Delaunay
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Gogh, Pierre Bonnard, and Edouard Vuillard, as well as Les Fauves, Henri Matisse and André Derain. She
Category

1960s Abstract Geometric Abstract Prints

Materials

Vellum

Blue Skies, Nothing but Blue Skies
By Howard Hodgkin
Located in New York, NY
, he saw works by School of Paris artists such as Henri Matisse, Édouard Vuillard, and Pierre Bonnard
Category

Early 2000s Pop Art Mixed Media

Materials

Mixed Media, Screen

"Master Arthur" from the suite "Cirque de l'Etoile Filante" Original aquatint.
By Georges Rouault
Located in San Francisco, CA
, where with Matisse, he was a pupil of Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau, a brilliant and sympathetic
Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Figurative Prints

Materials

Aquatint

Sonia Delaunay - Composition - Original Lithograph
By Sonia Delaunay
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
well as Les Fauves, Henri Matisse and André Derain. She did, however, maintain contact with Germany
Category

1970s Abstract Geometric Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Sukkos, Judaica Fruit, Print Pattern & Decoration Lithograph Robert Kushner Art
By Robert Kushner
Located in Surfside, FL
unique range of influences, including Islamic and European textiles, Henri Matisse, Georgia O'Keeffe
Category

1990s Contemporary Still-life Prints

Materials

Paper, Color

Lithograph Print Pattern & Decoration Art Honor Father & Mother Robert Kushner
By Robert Kushner
Located in Surfside, FL
. Kushner draws from a unique range of influences, including Islamic and European textiles, Henri Matisse
Category

1980s Contemporary Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph, Screen

'Flowers' original abstract linocut by Wisconsin artist Schomer Lichtner
By Schomer Lichtner
Located in Milwaukee, WI
flower resemble the lyrical mid-century works of the French artist Henri Matisse, which combined with
Category

Late 20th Century American Modern Abstract Prints

Materials

Paper, Black and White, Linocut

'Field' original abstract linocut in black by Wisconsin artist Schomer Lichtner
By Schomer Lichtner
Located in Milwaukee, WI
resemble the lyrical mid-century works of the French artist Henri Matisse, which combined with these
Category

Late 20th Century American Modern Landscape Prints

Materials

Black and White, Paper, Linocut

'Winter Silhouettes, ' offset lithograph by Schomer Lichtner
By Schomer Lichtner
Located in Milwaukee, WI
Henri Matisse, which combined with these material concerns demonstrate Lichter's modern sensibilities
Category

1960s American Modern Landscape Prints

Materials

Black and White, Lithograph

'Winter Silhouettes, ' offset lithograph by Schomer Lichtner
By Schomer Lichtner
Located in Milwaukee, WI
Henri Matisse, which combined with these material concerns demonstrate Lichter's modern sensibilities
Category

1960s American Modern Landscape Prints

Materials

Black and White, Lithograph

'Winter Silhouettes, ' offset lithograph by Schomer Lichtner
By Schomer Lichtner
Located in Milwaukee, WI
Henri Matisse, which combined with these material concerns demonstrate Lichter's modern sensibilities
Category

1960s American Modern Landscape Prints

Materials

Black and White, Lithograph

1980 Large Pop Art Silkscreen Abstract Op Art Jagged Edge Bright Color Serigraph
By Nicholas Krushenick
Located in Surfside, FL
were Henri Matisse, J. M. W. Turner, Henri Rousseau, Fernand Leger, Alexander Calder, Roy Lichtenstein
Category

1980s Pop Art Abstract Prints

Materials

Screen

Sonia Delaunay - Composition - Original Lithograph
By Sonia Delaunay
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
well as Les Fauves, Henri Matisse and André Derain. She did, however, maintain contact with Germany
Category

1970s Abstract Geometric Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

After Delaunay - Color Compositions - Pochoir
By (after) Sonia Delaunay
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
well as Les Fauves, Henri Matisse and André Derain. She did, however, maintain contact with Germany
Category

1960s Abstract Geometric Figurative Prints

Living Painting - Colour Pochoir
By (after) Sonia Delaunay
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Edouard Vuillard, as well as Les Fauves, Henri Matisse and André Derain. She did, however, maintain
Category

1960s Abstract Geometric Figurative Prints

27 Living Paintings - Colour Pochoir
By (after) Sonia Delaunay
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
, Vincent Van Gogh, Pierre Bonnard, and Edouard Vuillard, as well as Les Fauves, Henri Matisse and André
Category

1960s Abstract Geometric Portrait Prints

Living Painting - Colour Pochoir
By (after) Sonia Delaunay
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Edouard Vuillard, as well as Les Fauves, Henri Matisse and André Derain. She did, however, maintain
Category

1960s Abstract Geometric Abstract Prints

Living Painting - Colour Pochoir
By (after) Sonia Delaunay
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Edouard Vuillard, as well as Les Fauves, Henri Matisse and André Derain. She did, however, maintain
Category

1960s Abstract Geometric Figurative Prints

Living Painting - Colour Pochoir
By (after) Sonia Delaunay
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
, Vincent Van Gogh, Pierre Bonnard, and Edouard Vuillard, as well as Les Fauves, Henri Matisse and André
Category

1960s Abstract Geometric Figurative Prints

Sonia Delaunay - Living Painting - Colour Pochoir
By (after) Sonia Delaunay
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
, Vincent Van Gogh, Pierre Bonnard, and Edouard Vuillard, as well as Les Fauves, Henri Matisse and André
Category

1960s Abstract Geometric Figurative Prints

Original Lithograph - Henri Matisse - Apollinaire
By Henri Matisse
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Original Lithograph - Henri Matisse - Apollinaire Artist : Henri MATISSE 13 x 10 inches Edition
Category

1930s Modern Portrait Prints

Materials

Linocut

Original Lithograph - Henri Matisse - Apollinaire
By Henri Matisse
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Original Lithograph - Henri Matisse - Apollinaire Artist : Henri MATISSE 13 x 10 inches Edition
Category

1930s Modern Portrait Prints

Materials

Linocut

Original Lithograph - Henri Matisse - Apollinaire
By Henri Matisse
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Original Lithograph - Henri Matisse - Apollinaire Artist : Henri MATISSE 13 x 10 inches Edition
Category

1930s Modern Portrait Prints

Materials

Linocut

Creole Dancer
By (after) Henri Matisse
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
after Henri Matisse - Acrobat Edition of 200 with the printed signature, as issued 80 x 60 cm
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Still-life Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Creole Dancer
Creole Dancer
H 31.5 in W 23.63 in D 0.04 in
Guillaume Apollinaire
By Henri Matisse
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Original Lithograph - Henri Matisse - Portrait of Guillaume Apollinaire From the book by André
Category

1930s Modern Portrait Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Dansuese au Tabouret
By Henri Matisse
Located in Baltimore, MD
dancers that Matisse drew in lithography in 1925-1927 rank amongst his most renowned works in the medium
Category

1920s Modern Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Dansuese au Tabouret
Dansuese au Tabouret
H 19.38 in W 12.88 in D 2 in
after Henri Matisse - Fern - Lithograph
By (after) Henri Matisse
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Lithograph after Henri Matisse - Fern Artist : after Henri MATISSE Signed in the stone, as issued
Category

1950s Modern Still-life Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Danseuse sur un Tabouret - Lithograph by Henri Matisse - 1929
By Henri Matisse
Located in Roma, IT
Danseuse sur un Tabouret is a wonderful lithograph realized by Henri Matisse in 1929. From the
Category

1920s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Dancer in Wooden Armchair (Duthuit 483)
By Henri Matisse
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
An original signed lithograph on Arches paper by French artist Henri Matisse (1869-1954) titled
Category

1920s Impressionist Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Dancing Blue Nude-Lithograph After Original Decoupage, with COA. Framed
By (after) Henri Matisse
Located in Clinton Township, MI
Lithograph After Original Decoupage. Measures 25 x 21 inches with frame. Certificate of Authenticity-Printer: Mourlot Freres. Paris. Publisher: Verve, Paris (No. 35 & 36). Image is i...
Category

1950s Portrait Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Côte d'Azur (La Danseuse Créole)
By Henri Matisse
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
An original lithograph poster on wove paper after French artist Henri Matisse (1869-1954) titled
Category

1960s Modern Abstract Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Lithograph - Woman
By (after) Henri Matisse
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
after Henri MATISSE (1869-1954) Lithograph after a drawing of 1941 Printed signature and date
Category

1940s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Swiss Artist Large Color Symphony Silkscreen Serigraph Print Kinetic Op Art
Located in Surfside, FL
enthusiasm for jazz with Man Ray and Henri Matisse. These artists, while giving titles evoking this musical
Category

20th Century Op Art Abstract Prints

Materials

Lithograph, Screen

  • 1
Get Updated with New Arrivals
Save "Henri Matisse Dancer Artworks", and we’ll notify you when there are new listings in this category.

Henri Matisse Dancer Artworks For Sale on 1stDibs

Find a variety of henri matisse dancer artworks available on 1stDibs. Today, if you’re looking for Post-Impressionist editions of these works and are unable to find the perfect match for your home, our selection also includes Expressionist. Adding a colorful pieces of art to a room that is mostly decorated in warm neutral tones can yield a welcome change — see the henri matisse dancer artworks on 1stDibs that include elements of red, black, gray, brown and more. These artworks have been a part of the life’s work for many artists, but the versions made by Henri Matisse and (after) Henri Matisse are consistently popular. Each of these unique pieces was handmade with extraordinary care, with artists most often working in lithograph and linocut. Some henri matisse dancer artworks are too large for some spaces — a variety of smaller iterations, measuring # 8.27 inches across, are available.

How Much are Henri Matisse Dancer Artworks?

Henri matisse dancer artworks can differ in price owing to various characteristics — the average selling price for items in our inventory is $985, while the lowest priced sells for $185 and the highest can go for as much as $24,500.

Finding the Right Prints and Multiples for You

Decorating with fine art prints — whether they’re figurative prints, abstract prints or another variety — has always been a practical way of bringing a space to life as well as bringing works by an artist you love into your home.

Pursued in the 1960s and ’70s, largely by Pop artists drawn to its associations with mass production, advertising, packaging and seriality, as well as those challenging the primacy of the Abstract Expressionist brushstroke, printmaking was embraced in the 1980s by painters and conceptual artists ranging from David Salle and Elizabeth Murray to Adrian Piper and Sherrie Levine.

Printmaking is the transfer of an image from one surface to another. An artist takes a material like stone, metal, wood or wax, carves, incises, draws or otherwise marks it with an image, inks or paints it and then transfers the image to a piece of paper or other material.

Fine art prints are frequently confused with their more commercial counterparts. After all, our closest connection to the printed image is through mass-produced newspapers, magazines and books, and many people don’t realize that even though prints are editions, they start with an original image created by an artist with the intent of reproducing it in a small batch. Fine art prints are created in strictly limited editions — 20 or 30 or maybe 50 — and are always based on an image created specifically to be made into an edition.

Many people think of revered Dutch artist Rembrandt as a painter but may not know that he was a printmaker as well. His prints have been preserved in time along with the work of other celebrated printmakers such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol. These fine art prints are still highly sought after by collectors.

“It’s another tool in the artist’s toolbox, just like painting or sculpture or anything else that an artist uses in the service of mark making or expressing him- or herself,” says International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) vice president Betsy Senior, of New York’s Betsy Senior Fine Art, Inc.

Because artist’s editions tend to be more affordable and available than his or her unique works, they’re more accessible and can be a great opportunity to bring a variety of colors, textures and shapes into a space.

For tight corners, select small fine art prints as opposed to the oversized bold piece you’ll hang as a focal point in the dining area. But be careful not to choose something that is too big for your space. And feel free to lean into it if need be — not every work needs picture-hanging hooks. Leaning a larger fine art print against the wall behind a bookcase can add a stylish installation-type dynamic to your living room. (Read more about how to arrange wall art here.)

Find fine art prints for sale on 1stDibs today.

Questions About Henri Matisse Dancer Artworks
Prices for most henri matisse dancer artworks on 1stdibs are negotiable. You’ll see a "Make an Offer" button on the item details page, indicating that the seller is willing to consider a lower price. It’s not uncommon for customers to get 15–25% off the list price after negotiating. See our tips for negotiating like a pro.
Only experienced, professional sellers who have applied and been thoroughly vetted by our team of experts can sell henri matisse dancer artworks and other quality items on our site. Learn more about becoming a 1stdibs seller.
The 1stdibs Buyer Protection Guarantee provides coverage for qualified purchases in the unlikely event that the item arrives not as described or is damaged. We’ll work with you and the seller to find a resolution, ensuring your satisfaction. View details
We have partnerships with the world's best shipping providers to facilitate seamless and fully-insured delivery from the seller's location directly to you, wherever you are in the world. Our logistics team is comprised of dedicated members who arrange all the details with our partners, servicing and supporting all shipments. Learn more about shipping on 1stdibs.
For your convenience, we offer multiple payment methods, including all major credit cards and PayPal. For many purchases we also offer financing options or wire transfer. Learn more about payment options on 1stdibs.

Read More

Art Brings the Drama in These Intriguing 1stDibs 50 Spaces

The world’s top designers explain how they display art to elicit the natural (and supernatural) energy of home interiors.

Welcome (Back) to the Wild, Wonderful World of  Walasse Ting

Americans are rediscovering the globe-trotting painter and poet, who was connected to all sorts of art movements across a long and varied career.

Shapero Modern’s Director Tells Us All about 20th-Century Prints

Tabitha Philpott-Kent knows a lot of art multiples. Here, the London gallery director talks about what makes printmaking so fabulous.

Yoshitomo Nara Puts a Punk Rock Twist on the Traditional Prints of His Ancestors

The forever-rebellious Japanese artist craftily defaces famous Edo Period woodblock prints with “In the Floating World.”

Red Grooms Salutes the ‘Ninth Street Women’ Who Revolutionized Modern Art

In a new show of peppy portraits, the 85-year-old artist looks back at 1950s New York, when the Abstract Expressionists ruled the scene. Only now, the women Ab-Ex artists get more of the spotlight than the men.

Just What Is an Intaglio Print, and What Makes It a Good Investment?

Bay Area art publisher Rhea Fontaine explains the difference between intaglio and woodcut printing, how to frame fine art prints and what makes them attractive to collectors.

Andy Warhol Piles Up the Gifts in This Fanciful Christmas Print

Created in the late 1950s, it’s one of a surprising number of holiday-themed works by the prolific Pop artist.

A Derrick Adams Double Portrait Brings Out the Interior Lives of His Subjects

Adams has skyrocketed to art superstardom with his exuberant depictions of Black life. Here's what makes his work important to our times.