Charles White is a revolutionary painter and an inspiration to many people of color because of his usage of powerful African American people as the focal point of many of his paintings and murals. White was known for his humanist style, and was described as someone who was “drawn to the physical body and more literal representations of the lives of African-Americans.” In his mural entitled Five Great American Negroes, he is paying homage to some of the most affluential and notable African-Americans of all time, including Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, and Marian Anderson.

In many of his works, he depicts the African-American as a strong, powerful being, often times exaggerating the size of their arms to represent their strength. White stated: “Art must be an integral part of of the struggle. It can’t simply mirror what’s taking place. It must adapt itself to human needs. It must ally itself with the forces of liberation.” This idea is present through all of his pieces, as he constantly evolves his style and approach over time to address changing concerns and new audiences. He is dedicated to activism and racial equality and it’s prevalent in everything he’s accomplished in his four-decade-long career. He wants to demonstrate black pride to white audiences and represent African-Americans in a new light. He purposefully emphasizes facial features that are distinctly African-American in hopes that it will alter the way they are perceived. Black people were always made to feel ashamed of their roots and their culture. White seeks to change that. Because of his commitment to the civil rights movement and his love for his people, his work has also inspired many artists who came after him, paving the way for other African-American artists.

I personally really enjoyed taking a brief tour into his life’s work and trying to understand the struggles he had to endure as a black artist. His passion and talent truly amazed me, and I thought all of his pieces were very unique and distinctly his style. After our lovely tour guide had finished her guided tour of his work, I decided to linger behind and wander around the room some more to look at some of his other pieces. I have attached some of my favorites to this post so that others could also enjoy what I got to see. Even though Charles White’s style isn’t typically would I would gravitate towards at a modern art museum, I thought he was a very interesting character and I felt the amount of emotion and struggle emanate through his paintings, which takes incredible skill to accomplish.