An artist who disrupted convention
Artists and scholars gathered at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum on Wednesday for a panel discussion on the work of 20th-century artist Romare Bearden. The event celebrated “Color and Construction: The Intimate Vision of Romare Bearden,” which runs through Dec. 9. Diedra Harris-Kelley, co-director of the Romare Bearden Foundation in New York and Bearden’s niece, said exhibits like this one, mounted in the Neil L. and Angelica Zander Rudenstine Gallery at the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, allow viewers to gain an intimate understanding of his work. “Small shows like this one help us to really get at the heart of his work as an artist. It has a focus that allows us to peel away some of the layers,” Harris-Kelley said during the discussion, which was moderated by Henry Louis Gates Jr., the Alphonse Fletcher Jr. University Professor and director of the Du Bois Institute. “Bearden...