The 2006 acquisition of a large group of prints by Atlanta-based artist
Radcliffe Bailey jumpstarted the McNay’s collection of prints and drawings by contemporary Black American artists. Since that time, the Museum has sought to represent not only the important individual voices of Black artists but also their immeasurable contributions to American art history. The collection now houses an important and growing group of artworks by Derrick Adams, Letitia Huckaby, Sedrick Huckaby, Samuel Levi Jones, Kara Walker, and Stanley Whitney, among others.
Highlights of the exhibition include a recently acquired print suite by Kara
Walker, whose work addresses our nation’s legacy of slavery, and a print suite by Derrick Adams, whose work celebrates the enjoyment of life in the face of intolerance and adversity. Walker and Adams speak to the diversity and complexity of the Black experience in the United States, as will all of the works in this presentation.
Prints and Drawings by Contemporary Black Artists is organized for the McNay Art Museum by Lyle W. Williams, Curator of Prints and Drawings, Curator of Modern Art.
Funding is most generously provided by the Jane and Arthur Stieren Fund for Exhibitions.
Image credit: Derrick Adams, Sheet from How I Spent My Summer, 2021. Screenprint. Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Museum purchase, 2022.13.3. © Derrick Adams
