Being black in Western art
How have people of African descent been depicted in Western art and why? A comprehensive research project and photo archive at Harvard’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research seek to answer those sweeping questions. “The Image of the Black in Western Art” is based in the efforts of the French couple John and Dominique De Menil, human rights champions, art enthusiasts, and philanthropists who, reacting to U.S. segregation in the 1960s, began the process of documenting the depiction of individuals of African ancestry in the West, creating a five-volume series of illustrated works. In 1994 their project was handed over to the Du Bois Institute, which now houses the archive of 26,000 photographs of artworks in all media, and offers expanded access to outside researchers. The institute and the Harvard University Press are collaborating on updates of the five original books, and on five additional ones. Calling the reissue...