One of the most iconic paintings in African American art history. Tanner portrays Black family life with tenderness and dignity at a time when racist caricatures dominated American visual culture. It remains a foundational work of African American realism.

Commissioned by the New York Public Library, Douglas uses modernist silhouettes and radiating light to depict the journey from enslavement to cultural awakening. It defined the visual language of the Harlem Renaissance.

A striking portrait that blends modernist structure with emotional depth. Alston was a key Harlem Renaissance figure and later the first African American supervisor for the WPA Federal Art Project — this painting shows his mastery of color and form.

A bold, modernist composition inspired by African masks. Jones challenged the exclusion of Black artists from American modernism and asserted African aesthetics as central to global art history. One of her most celebrated works.

This landscape won first prize at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition — until judges learned Bannister was Black and tried to revoke it. Public outcry forced them to honor the award. The painting symbolizes both artistic excellence and resistance to racism.

Hunter, a self-taught artist from Louisiana, documented Black plantation life with clarity and warmth. The Wash captures daily labor with dignity and is one of her most recognized scenes — her work is now central to American folk art.

Created in response to the murder of Emmett Till, this painting merges Christian iconography with the Black freedom struggle. Driskell later became one of the most influential scholars of African American art, but this early work shows his full emotional and political power.

A marble sculpture celebrating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Lewis was the first internationally recognized Black woman sculptor, and this work stands as a triumph of both artistic achievement and symbolic liberation.

A monumental painting exploring African American domestic architecture, community, and ancestral memory. Biggers’ work bridges African symbolism with Southern Black life, making him a foundational figure in African American muralism.

Across 60 panels, Lawrence tells the story of the Great Migration — the mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North. Panel No. 1 sets the tone for the entire series with bold color, geometric abstraction, and powerful storytelling. A cornerstone of modern art and African American history.