DETROIT, MICH.- In celebration of Detroit’s rich history as a center for African American art and artists, the Detroit Institute of Arts presents “Detroit Collects: Selections of African American Art from Private Collections,” from November 12, 2019 through March 1, 2020. Nineteen Detroit-area art collectors generously loaned the artworks in this exhibition, some of which are on public view for the first time.

This exhibition, the first at the DIA to feature African American art from several local collectors, features 60 works of art in a variety of media, including paintings, sculptures, photography and more by internationally renowned artists. Highlights include works by Romare Bearden, Nick Cave, Alison Saar, Rashid Johnson and Carrie Mae Weems. The exhibition also features artists with Detroit roots, including Charles McGee, Mario Moore, Tylonn Sawyer, Allie McGhee and others. Their works are being displayed alongside the stories of motivation and passion that drive each collector to acquire African American art, and the ways the art can reflect and affect social change.

“The DIA’s General Motors Center for African American Art is the first curatorial department dedicated to African American art in the U.S.,” said Salvador Salort-Pons, DIA Director. “This exhibition builds on our history of collecting and displaying African American art and creates a new opportunity for our visitors to see themselves reflected in the museum’s galleries.”

Collectors in the exhibition include long-time supporters of the DIA such as Maureen and Roy Roberts — a contemporary African American gallery bears their names in recognition of a generous contribution to the museum. Other collectors include Nettie Seabrooks, the first African American woman executive at General Motors and deputy mayor, chief of staff and COO of the City of Detroit during the administration of Mayor Dennis Archer; and Rhonda D. Welburn, practicing attorney and former board member of the DIA who serves on the board of many nonprofit and charitable organizations such as the DMC Foundation and the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation.

Other lenders include: Joanne & Harold Braggs, Gayle & Andrew Camden, Deborah F. & Wilson A. Copeland, Dr. Walter O. & Linda Evans, Mary Anne & Eugene A. Gargaro, Jr., Robert B. & Katherine Jacobs, Karen Clermont Johnson, Dr. Darnell & Shirley A. Kaigler, Richard and Jane Manoogian, Joy & Allan Nachman, Dr. Cledie Taylor, Dr. Lorna Thomas, Jerome Watson & Deborah Geraldine Bledsoe Ford, David & Linda Whitaker, and Shirley Woodson Reid.

Highlights of the exhibition include:

Greenwich Village, 1945, Beauford Delaney, American; oil on canvas. Mary Ann and Eugene A. Gargaro Jr. Collection.

This work by artist Beauford Delaney is part of the artists’ highly regarded Greene Street series that interprets Greenwich Village in bright, vibrant colors, and conveys the optimism of this community as a coveted haven for writers, musicians and artists.

Madonna, 1982, Elizabeth Catlett, American; lithograph. Lent by Karen Clermont Johnson and Kevin J. Johnson

In this work, artist Elizabeth Catlett takes inspiration from historical Christian depictions of Mary and Jesus, reprinting it as a Black mother and son, contradicting the typical imagery of White religious figures.

Untitled Card XXXVI from The Card Series I, 2003–5, Whitfield Lovell, American; charcoal and affixed playing card. Shirley Woodson and Edsel Reid Collection.

Artist Whitfield Lovell’s Card Series pairs playing cards with his intricate portraiture drawings. In this image, Lovell depicts an African American male with a red hearts card. By choosing ordinary, often unknown people for his drawings, he reclaims the everyday histories and narratives of African Americans.