Chiaroscuro: Black artists in the City of Light, 1945-1965 - travelling exhibition; work of various African Americans in Paris, France - Illustration - Cover Story

American Visions, Feb-March, 1997 by Valerie J. Mercer

Following World War II, hundreds of African-American artists went to Paris to learn firsthand about modernism, to escape discrimination and to experience the anticipated romance of bohemian life. "Explorations in the City of Light: African-American Artists in Paris, 1945-1965" is the first exhibition to concentrate on the art and experiences of seven of these artists: Barbara Chase-Riboud, Ed Clark, Harold Cousins, Beauford Delaney, Herbert Gentry, Lois Mailou Jones and Larry Potter.

The first wave of African-American artists in Paris during the immediate postwar years was mainly composed of ex-soldiers. The Paris they encountered was a far cry from what many of them had anticipated. The city had been ravaged by war, and the basics required for human existence -- food, water and heat -- were scarce. Another disappointment for them was the realization that it would take a few years before the Paris art world would once again be receptive to the work of non-French artists.

Still, African-American artists were not discouraged and remained determined to reap the advantages of their sojourn. Alongside white American expatriates, many of them registered for classes at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere or studied at the private ateliers of School of Paris artists, such as Fernand Leger and Ossip Zadkine. Eventually, their art was exhibited in French museums and galleries, as well as the American cooperative Galerie Huit. They also received critical attention from the Paris art community. Having access to the masters of modernism and exposure to new ideas and artistic styles influenced by the art of Africa and other nontraditional sources, African-American artists thrived in the stimulating environment of Paris.

For the exhibition, the significance of Paris as a postwar artistic Mecca was best measured through an analysis of the development of a small group of artists who had produced a substantial body of work during an extended stay in the French capital during the two decades following World War II. The work of the seven chosen helped clarify the central issues raised by four years of research: the endurance of the lure of Paris for African-American artists; the international character of post-World War II American art; the quest for freedom from racial and artistic constraints; the impact for African-American artists of early and significant critical attention; and the importance of the seven artists as influences on subsequent generations of black artists.

Throughout their careers, the exhibition's artists demonstrated a sustained commitment to a distinct vision that had its origins in postwar Paris.

Valerie J. Mercer is curator of collections at the Studio Museum in Harlem and curator of "Explorations in the City of Light."