Romare Bearden: His Life and Art

by Romare Bearden, Myron Schwartzman (editor), August Wilson (foreword)

Myron Schwartzman

Genres: Art, History

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

From the African American community and street life of city of New York, painter and collagist Romare Howard Bearden often drew subjects.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romare_...

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of Bearden’s life and study of his excellent work.

[Margaret Czekay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful. I've long admired Bearden's work. For approximately 13 years now I have been a volunteer with the nonprofit program Art Goes to School of the Delaware Valley, where we bring museum reproductions into elementary classrooms as a curriculum supplement and every so often, like this year, we have a Bearden . This year's portfolio has his beautiful, regal She-Ba. Because I've researched and studied him before I knew some of the stories in this book, like his darker skinned father being questioned on the street down south for daring to approach his own son, the young blond Romare, whom the police took to be a white child, and the tale of the robbery in the speakeasy where young Romare worked as a teen, etc. I knew his mother Bessye was outgoing and community oriented and their home was a magnet for Harlem Renaissance figures. But I never knew he used his GI bill benefits to study at the Sorbonne. I never knew how much he valued the technique in ancient Chinese painting of leaving a large empty space. I never knew that he copied Rembrandts habit of bringing beggars off the street to pose as kings in portraits. The fact that much of this book is transcripts of interviews and conversations with Bearden means that I feel like I've finally gotten to know him and hear him express himself in his own words. What a privilege!

[Leslie]

This is a beauty-full book that I'll get into more fully real soon. For now, has anyone noticed Bearden's "City of Light" artwork (on glass) located at the Westchester Square subway station in NYC?