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Home>Exhibitions>Past>2022>Afro-Atlantic Histories

# Afro-Atlantic Histories

Past Exhibition

## April 10 – July 17, 2022West Building, Main Floor, Galleries 72–79

For centuries, artists have told and retold the complex histories of the African Diaspora. Explore this enduring legacy in the exhibition *Afro-Atlantic Histories*, which takes an in-depth look at the historical experiences and cultural formations of Black and African people since the 17th century. More than 130 powerful works of art, including paintings, sculpture, photographs, and time-based media by artists from Africa, Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean, bring these narratives to life.

This exhibition was initially presented as *Histórias Afro-Atlânticas* in 2018 by the Museu de Arte de São Paulo and the Instituto Tomie Ohtake in Brazil.

Audio Tour
Hear the artists tell their stories.
Listen to artists, curators, and scholars discuss works from the exhibition and the enduring legacy of the African Diaspora.
Listen to the audio guide
Video
Two-Minute Tour
Join exhibition curators Kanitra Fletcher, Steven Nelson and Molly Donovan on a two-minute tour of Afro-Atlantic Histories.
Watch the video

## Selected Works

Afro-Atlantic Histories
Zanele Muholi, *Ntozakhe II, (Parktown)*, 2016, photographic wall mural from digital files, sheet: 355.6 x 254 cm (140 x 100 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund, 2021.88.1, © Zanele Muholi. Courtesy of the artist, Yancey Richardson, New York, and Stevenson Cape Town/Johannesburg

Afro-Atlantic Histories
David C. Driskell, *Current Forms: Yoruba Circle*, 1969, acrylic on canvas, overall: 112.4 x 86.36 cm (44 1/4 x 34 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Purchased with support from the Ford Foundation, Estate of David C. Driskell. Courtesy DC Moore Gallery, NY

Afro-Atlantic Histories
Njideka Akunyili Crosby, *Eko Skyscraper*, 2019, acrylic and colored pencil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Purchased with support from the Ford Foundation, © Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Courtesy the artist, Victoria Miro, and David Zwirner

Afro-Atlantic Histories
Dalton Paula, *Zeferina*, 2018, oil on canvas, Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand–MASP, Gift of the artist in the context of the *Afro-Atlantic Histories* exhibition, 2018, MASP.10808. © Dalton Paula

Afro-Atlantic Histories
Aaron Douglas, *Into Bondage*, 1936, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Corcoran Collection (Museum purchase and partial gift from Thurlow Evans Tibbs, Jr., The Evans-Tibbs Collection), 2014.79.17. © 2021 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Afro-Atlantic Histories
Samuel Fosso, *Self-Portrait (as Liberated American Woman of the ’70s)*, 1997, printed 2003, chromogenic print, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by Nina and Michael Zilkha, 2004.809. © Samuel Fosso, Courtesy Jean Marc Patras Galerie, Paris

Afro-Atlantic Histories
Kerry James Marshall, *Voyager*, 1992, acrylic and collage on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Corcoran Collection (Gift of the Women’s Committee of the Corcoran Gallery of Art), 2014.79.52

Afro-Atlantic Histories
Barrington Watson, *Conversation,*1981, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, Gift of Workers' Savings & Loan Bank. © Estate of Barrington Watson

Afro-Atlantic Histories
Frank Bowling, *Night Journey*, 1969–1970, acrylic on canvas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Maddy and Larry Mohr, 2011, 2011.590.2. © 2021 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/DACS, London

Afro-Atlantic Histories
Lois Mailou Jones, *The Green Door*, 1981, watercolor over graphite on wove paper, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund), 2015.19.2951

## Explore & Share

Feature
Black Art & Artists in Our Collection
Explore art and artists in our collection, along with exhibitions, events, and resources for educators.

Blog
“Afro-Atlantic Histories” Belong to All Black Folk Everywhere
“Afro-Atlantic Histories,” plural, helps us collectively, deliberately remember the varied experiences of Black people across time and geography.

Blog
John Philip Simpson’s “The Captive Slave”
Simpson’s painting, which appears in the “Afro-Atlantic Histories” exhibition, both draws on and subverts artistic traditions, seemingly to send an abolitionist message.

Video
Exhibition Overview
Take an in-depth look at the works of art, historical experiences, and cultural formations of Black and African people since the 17th century.

Blog
Afro-Atlantic Histories: Where Do I Start?
Learn more about art and artists that make up the *Afro-Atlantic Histories* exhibition.

For Teachers
Afro-Atlantic Histories Teacher Resources
Explore classroom activities with in-depth questions and exercises centered around selected works of art.

**Organization**                        This exhibition is co-organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Museu de Arte de Sāo Paulo in collaboration with the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

The US tour is curated by Kanitra Fletcher, associate curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic art at the National Gallery of Art. At the Museu de Arte de São Paulo and at the Instituto Tomie Ohtake, the exhibition was curated by Adriano Pedrosa, artistic director, MASP; Ayrson Heráclito, guest curator; Hélio Menezes, guest curator; Lilia Moritz Schwarcz, adjunct curator of histories, MASP; and Tomás Toledo, chief curator, MASP. At the National Gallery, the curatorial team also includes Molly Donovan, curator of contemporary art, and Steven Nelson, dean of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts.

**Other venues** The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 24, 2021–January 17, 2022Los Angeles County Museum of Art , December 11, 2022–April 30, 2023Dallas Museum of Art, October 22, 2023–February 11, 2024

**Sponsors** Major support for this exhibition is provided by the Ford Foundation.

Additional funding is provided by the Exhibition Circle of the National Gallery of Art and the Annenberg Fund for the International Exchange of Art.

**Passes** Admission is always free and passes are not required

**Banner detail**: Zanele Muholi, *Ntozakhe II, (Parktown)*, 2016, photographic wall mural from digital file, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund, 2021.88.1, © Zanele Muholi. Courtesy of the artist, Yancey Richardson, New York, and Stevenson Cape Town/Johannesburg

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