Customer Reviews

The Art of Romare Bearden

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To call Romare Bearden a "black artist" is a hopeless exercise in trying to pigeonhole an enormously gifted human being. While supporting himself as a caseworker for the New York City Department of Social Services, Bearden turned out works of jaw-dropping skill and artistic talent. His inspiration ranged from Homer to the Bible to current events, and each was a vivid expression of black life in the Americas. Some of the best examples of his output are represented in this volume. The book is gorgeously illustrated and Ruth Fine's excellent narrative helps us get a deeper insight into one of America's finest artists.

This book was published on the occasion of a major retrospective of Romare Bearden's work at the National Gallery of Art. The lead essay by curator Ruth Fine deftly navigates Bearden's multifaceted artistic and personal life, a collage inspired by a world of cultural influences from the rural lore of North Carolina to Buddhism.

The breadth of the exhibition is exhaustive and stunning. Much of the art was loaned by private collections, and has rarely been viewed by the public. In addition to reproducing examples of his well-known collages, photostats and watercolors, it includes book illustrations, program covers, paintings in oil and gouache, murals, costume designs, and his only known sculpture. It also compares Bearden's work with some of its possible influences; for example, Bearden's collage "Down Home, Also" (1971) and Picasso's "Sleeping Peasants" (1919) though of course, Bearden always makes the image his own.

In addition to Fine's essay, 244 color plates and 86 black-and-white illustrations, the book offers five additional essays which place Bearden's life and work in the wider history of American society and art. For example, Jacqueline Francis' "Reading Bearden" explores what he read as well as what he wrote.

An indispensable book that finally puts all the pieces together.

Romare Bearden has long been one of my favorite artists, and when I moved to Berkeley, I was
pleased to learn that he had painted a mural for the Council Chamber in their City Hall.

When I pointed out to people how lucky they were to have a work by the great Romare Bearden,
they were quite astonished. It seems they liked because when attending Council Meetings
which would, in typical Berkeley fashion ranged from the absurd to the absurder, they found they could maintain their cool while looking at the mural, and finding people and places that were familiar to them.

Bearden's large work has always been exciting, but in museums it is very hard to concentrate
on the details, on the smallest figures, on how deftly each component fits into the theme.

When I read a review of the book, I "Amozoned" it. How could the National Gallery of Art
not do a great catalog?

They did a splendid job. Every small component of the collages
is clear and distinct. Every photograph of the artist, and the story of his life, enhances
the appreciation of the artist.