St. James's unique biographical dictionary provides information concerning approximately 400 artists, nearly 300 of whom were living at the time of publication. Although the focus is on "fine artists"--sculptors, painters, and printmakers--the index groups artists by medium, listing photographers, illustrators, ceramists, performance artists, filmmakers, quilt makers, wood-carvers, and fiber artists. An index of nationalities lists 26 groups from Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean, but US artists predominate (approximately 300); Nigerians and Jamaicans are the second largest groups, with 16 listings each. The signed entries profile the artist and list the artist's exhibitions, the institutions holding the artist's work, and the artist's publications. Many entries provide photographs of the artists or examples of their work. All illustrations are black-and-white reproductions and are indexed separately. A four-part subject bibliography covers general works and works on African, African American, and Caribbean art. Profiles of some 80 advisers and contributors constitute the last section. College and university libraries and large public libraries need this survey of black artists. Copyright 1999 American Library Association.

Profiling 400 prominent artists of the 20th century, each entry in this reference includes a biographical profile; lists of exhibitions, public galleries and museums; a bibliography of books and articles by and about the entrant; and presents a critical perspective on the artist's work.

Blending a vivid narrative with more than 150 images of artwork, Painter offers a history--from before slavery to today's hip-hop culture--written for a new generation.

Examines how upper-middle class blacks forge black identities for themselves and their children through the consumption of black visual art. This book documents how the salience of race extends into the cultural life of even the most socioeconomically successful blacks.

"This is the book on women's art I've been waiting for--smart, deeply rooted, and up-to-date, with an overdue focus on women of color that fills in the historical cracks. Read it and run with it."--Lucy R. Lippard, author of The Pink Glass Swan: Selected Essays on Feminist Art "More than merely beautiful and ground-breaking, Art/ Women/ California 1950-2000 is also about the enriching interventions created by diverse women artists, the effect of whose work is not only far-reaching, but has also opened up the very definition of American art. It is about intellectual interdisciplinality and the dialectical relationship between art and social context. It is about the way various California cultures--Native, Latino, Asian, feminist, immigrant, politically active, and virtual, which are so different from the trope of the Western cowboy--have intervened in that entity we imagine as 'America.' "--Elaine Kim, editor of Dangerous Women: Gender and Korean Nationalism "Rich and provocative. A pleasure to read and to look at."--Linda Nochlin, author of The Body in Pieces: The Fragment as a Metaphor of Modernity "This book should greatly help everyone understand the remarkably diversified evolution of art in California, which is largely due to the great influx of women and the transformative effect of a new feminist consciousness."--Arthur C. Danto, author of Philosophizing Art: Selected Essays

“A fresh, intelligent, and insightful assessment of Sam Gilliam's lifetime achievements as an artist. Binstock accomplishes this through his penetrating critical examination of Gilliam's artistic development, innovations, and the complexities of his contribution both as an abstract and African-American artist.”—Valerie J. Mercer, author of Explorations in the 'City of Light' "Sam Gilliam: A Retrospective, which gives focus and definition to an artist critical to our understanding of how contemporary painting has evolved in this country, is a highly welcome publication."—Leslie King-Hammond, Dean of Graduate Studies, Maryland Institute College of Art "Sam Gilliam: A Retrospective is a thorough and serious assessment of a magisterial career. Meticulously examining Gilliam's ideas, aesthetics, influences, artistic process, and impact on other artists, it illuminates his brilliance and the important role played by his work in the recent history of American painting."—Maurice Berger, Fellow, The Vera List Center for Art & Politics, The New School "Finally a comprehensive study of one of our most significant artists! Jonathan Binstock's erudite account of Sam Gilliam's innovations in the world of art fills a considerable void in our understanding of painterly abstraction. The art works themselves-cerebral, sentient, and fascinating-consummate the inquiry and make this book a visual delight."—Richard J. Powell, John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art and Art History, Duke University "Binstock's writings on Sam Gilliam's art over the past four decades have placed the artist in the forefront of contemporary American art. In this new book, he recounts Gilliam's rise to an artist of international prominence and offers a concise history of contemporary art in Washington. A must read."—David D. Driskell, author of Two Centuries of Black American Art "This comprehensive text celebrates one of America's hidden national treasures. Gilliam's steadfast and unswerving commitment as an artist shines through his works, as in this account of them by Jonathan Binstock. What emerges here is a full-on profile of an artist and a black American."—Lowery Stokes Sims, President, The Studio Museum in Harlem

From the middle of the nineteenth century, as Euro-Americans moved westward, they carried with them long-held prejudices against people of color. By the time they reached the West Coast, their new settlements included African Americans and recent Asian immigrants, as well as the indigenous inhabitants and descendants of earlier Spanish and Mexican settlers. The Coveted Westside deals with the settlement and development of Los Angeles in the context of its multiracial, multiethnic population, especially African Americans. Mandel exposes the enduring struggle between Whites determined to establish their hegemony and create residential heterogeneity in the growing city, and people of color equally determined to obtain full access to the city and the opportunities, including residential, that it offered. Not only does this book document the Black homeowners’ fight against housing discrimination, it shares personal accounts of Blacks’ efforts to settle in the highly desirable Westside of Los Angeles. Mandel explores the White-derived social and legal mechanisms that created this segregated city and the African American-led movement that challenged efforts to block access to fair housing.

While social concerns have been central to the work of many African-American visual artists, painters

From the tobacco fields of western Kentucky to the streets of Harlem, from the Gullah Islands off the South Carolina and Georgia coasts to the all-black republic of Haiti, painter Ellis Wilson (1899-1977) examined the scope and depth of black culture. One of Kentucky's most significant African American artists, Wilson graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1923. He spent five more years in the city before moving to New York, where he lived for the rest of his life. Aside from his participation in the WPA's Federal Arts Project and a Guggenheim Fellowship, he was never able to support himself fully by painting. Yet his work has long been praised for its boldness and individuality. Black workers were a favorite subject: field hands, factory workers, loggers, fishermen, and more. Of his 1940s series of black factory employees, Wilson stated, "That was the first time I had ever seen my people working in industry, so I painted them." Over time his documentary style gave way to one that emphasized shape and color over pure representation. Despite exhibitions in New York and elsewhere, Wilson considered a small show at the public library in his hometown of Mayfield in 1947 to be "one of the high points" of his life. This catalog accompanies the first major retrospective of Wilson's paintings.

Aesthetically seductive, yet socio politically charged; confrontational yet inviting, captivating and provocative are the artworks by Juan Logan. In a recent art journey, I came across his body of work at Logan Studios and became quickly intoxicated. Unlike encountering them in a museum space, an institution or a gallery; here I found myself entranced in a different type of aesthetic journey; one that would lead me to experience an understanding which I had not encountered before. Juan Logan's body of work is fascinating; enchanting and challenging all at once, unapologetic and strong with hints of sarcasm and irony that serve to challenge the viewer into engaging with the heavy issues he addresses with every piece he produces.