The Harlem Renaissance and "Negro Art"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the philosophies of three leading figures of the Harlem Renaissance--Langston Hughes, George Schuyler and W.E.B. DuBois. The paper describes Langston Hughes' "The Negro and the Racial Mountain" in which he attempts to prove that the desire to not be associated with a specific ethnic class is tantamount to racial self-hatred. The author then explains that George Schuyler in his "The Negro Art Hokum" argues that African-American artists are not some sort of unified bloc and that the imposition of subject matter and style is belittling and racist. Next, the author of the paper applies the conclusions of Hughes and Schuyler to two paintings by Beauford Delaney, a prominent painter of the Harlem Renaissance. The paper concludes that the fairest and most logical approach to the study of "Negro Art" lies somewhere between Langston Hughes and George Schuyler.

From the Paper:

"Another of Delaney's works that highlights the necessity of forming a compromise between Hughes' and Schuyler's contrasting theories on art is his famous pastel drawing of James Baldwin, the American writer and novelist. Although the two were close friends, Delaney does not attempt to transmit, through his strokes, a sense of his love of and appreciation for Baldwin. Had he wanted to do that, he surely would have created a different portrait than the eerie, anxiety-riddled, and yellow-hued portrait that he actually made."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Delaney, Beauford. Can Fire in the Park. 1946. Smithsonian American Art Museum. 7 May 2007 <www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Landscapes>.
• Delaney, Beauford. James Baldwin. 1963. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. 7 May 2007 <http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/delaney_beauford.html>.
• DuBois, W.E.B. "Criteria of Negro Art." WEBDubois.org. 2004. 7 May 2007 <http://www.webdubois.org/dbCriteriaNArt.html>.
• Hughes, Langston. "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain." The Black Collegian Online.1995. IMDiversity, Inc. 7 May 2007 <http://www.black-collegian.com/african/negroartist1_300.shtml>.
• Schuyler, George. "The Negro Art Hokum." History Matters: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web. 1998. Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. 7 May 2007 <http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5129/>.

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