Charles Alston

**Charles Henry Alston** (November 28, 1907 – April 27, 1977) na he be American painter, sculptor, illustrator, muralist den teacher wey live den work insyd de New York City neighborhood of Harlem. Na Alston be active insyd de Harlem Renaissance; na Alston be de first African-American supervisor for de Works Progress Administration ein Federal Art Project. Alston design den paint murals at de Harlem Hospital den de Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building. Insyd 1990, Alston ein bust of Martin Luther King Jr. cam turn de first image of an African American dem display at de White House.
## Ein life matter
### Early life
Dem born Charles Henry Alston for November 28, 1907, insyd Charlotte, North Carolina, to Reverend Primus Priss Alston den Anna Elizabeth (Miller) Alston, as de youngest of five kiddies. Three survive past infancy: Charles, ein older sisto Rousmaniere den ein older bro Wendell. 
### Higher education
Alston graduate from DeWitt Clinton High School, wer dem nominate am for academic excellence wey he be de art editor of de school ein magazine, *The Magpie*. He be a member of de Arista - National Honor Society wey he san study drawing den anatomy at de Saturday school of de National Academy of Art. Insyd high school, dem give am de first oil paints wey he learn about ein aunt Bessye Bearden ein art salons, wich stars like Duke Ellington den Langston Hughes attend. After he graduate insyd 1925, he attend Columbia University, wey he turn down a scholarship to de Yale School of Fine Arts.

## Major exhibitions

* *A Force for Change*, group show, 2009, Spertus Museum, Chicago
* *Canvasing the Movement*, group show, 2009, Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture
* *On Higher Ground: Selections From the Walter O. Evans Collection*, group show, 2001, Henry Ford Museum, Michigan
* *Rhapsodies in Black: Art of the Harlem Renaissance*, group show, 1998, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
* *In the Spirit of Resistance: African-American Modernists and the Mexican Muralist School*, group show, 1996, De Studio Museum insyd Harlem, New York
* *Charles Alston: Artist and Teacher*, 1990, Kenkeleba Gallery, New York
* *Masters and Pupils: The Education of the Black Artist in New York*, 1986, Jamaica Arts Center, New York
* *Hundred Anniversary Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture*, 1975, Art Students League of New York, New York
* Solo exhibition, 1969, Huntington Hartford Gallery of Modern Art, New York.
* Solo exhibition, 1968, Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey
* *A Tribute to Negro Artists in Honor of the 100th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation*, group show, 1963, Albany Institute of History and Art

## Major collections

* Hampton University
* Harmon and Harriet Kelly Foundation for the Arts
* National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
* Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, Michigan
* National Gallery of Art
* National Museum of African American History and Culture
* Whitney Museum of American Art

## References


### Sources

* Finkelman, Paul (2004). *Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance*. London: Routledge. .
* Henderson, Henry (1993). *A History of African-American Artists: From 1792 to the Present*. New York: Pantheon Books. .
* Patton, Sharon (1998). *African-American Art*. Oxford: Oxford University Press. .
* Pierce, Lemoine (2004). "Charles Alston – An Appreciation". *The International Review of African American Art* (4): pages 33–38.
* Schwartzman, Myron (1990). *Romare Bearden: His Life and Art*. New York: Abrams Books. .
* Wardlaw, Alvia J. (2007). *Charles Alston*. Petaluma, California: Pomegranate Communications. .

## Read further

* Anonymous, "First portrait of an Africa-American on display at White House" *New York Amsterdam News*, March 2, 2000. Article about Alston's *Martin Luther King Jr.* at the White House.
* Catlin, Roger, "A Rare and Important Sculpture of Martin Luther King", January 15, 2016. Article about the importance of Alston's *Martin Luther King* bust by Smithsonian Magazine.
* Ascoli, Peter M, et al. *A force for change: African American art and the Julius Rosenwald Fund*. Chicago: Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies. 2009.  Book that documents the concept of and recipients of Rosenwald Funds.
* Barnwell, Andrea D.; Evans, Walter O.; Buick, Kristen; Mooney, Amy; Benjamin, Tritobia Hayes. *The Walter O. Evans collection of African American art.* Seattle:University of Washington Press. 2000.  Features work by Alston.
* Berman, G. (1977). "The Walls of Harlem". *Arts* magazine, 52 (2), pages 122–126. Discusses the impact of 306 and related artists.
* Brigham, D.R. (2008) Breaking the 'chain of segregation': The Pyramid Club annual exhibitions. *International Review of African American Art*, pages 2–17. These exhibitions featured work by Charles Alston.
* Cameron, A. (1999). "Buenos Vecinos: African-American printmaking and the Taller de Gráfica Popular". *Print Quarterly*, 16 (4), pages 356–367. The importance of 306 and the relationship these artists had to Latin American artists.
* Coker, G. G., & Jennings, C. L. (1994). *The Harmon and Harriet Kelley Collection of African American art*. San Antonio: San Antonio Museum of Art.  Exhibition catalog.
* Donaldson, J. R. (1974). *Generation '306' – Harlem, New Yor*k. Northwestern University. Chicago: Northwestern University. Dissertation about 306 with input from Alston himself.
* Dunitz, R and Prigoff, J. *Walls of heritage: walls of pride – African American murals.* Fullbridge: Pomegranate Europe Ltd. 2001.  Features Alston's murals.
* Glueck, Grace. "The best painter I can possibly be". *The New York Times*, 1968. Interview with Alston.
* Henderson, H., & Coker, G. G. (1990). Charles Alston: artist and teacher. New York: Kenkeleba Gallery. Exhibition catalog.
* Hodges, Bill. Gallery. "Charles "Spinky" Alston: Works of Art from 1936 to 1969", 2004. New York exhibition catalogue. 
* Langa, Helen. "Two antilynching art exhibitions: politicized viewpoints, racial perspectives, gendered constraints". *American Art*, 1999. 13 (1), pages 10–39. Politically charged article about lynching related artworks, includes Alston.
* Michael Rosenfeld Gallery. (1996). *African-American art: 20th century masterworks, III*. New York: Michael Rosenfeld Gallery. Exhibition catalog.

## External links
*A finding aid to the Charles Henry Alston Papers, 1924–1980 in the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
*Alston's work is used to teach children about family life and race Archived March 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
*Digitized Works Progress Administration prints at Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture