RICHMOND, VA.- Opening on August 19, Jazz: Print Series by Romare Bearden will be on view through June 26, 2016, in the Booth Lobby, Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, Modlin Center for the Arts. Romare Bearden (American, 1911-1988) was one of the leading artists of the twentieth century. An artist, writer, and jazz lyricist, throughout his long career he depicted African-American life in his paintings, prints, and most notably in his collages.

Born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, he matured as an artist in New York during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. In 1979, he created a remarkable lithograph print series on jazz based on his paintings and monotypes. In this suite of six prints he captured the essence of this genre of music and his love of jazz and the blues. Art historian Gail Gelburd notes in her book on Bearden’s prints, A Graphic Odyssey: Romare Bearden as Printmaker, “It is the sound of jazz that gives these images their sounds. Behind the paintings [and these prints], you can hear the music of his friends, jazz musicians such as Earl (Fatha) Hines, Cab Calloway, and Duke Ellington.”

The subject of these prints—jazz musicians and performance halls—was a favorite of Bearden’s as well as many of his contemporaries who were influenced by the vibrant music scene in Harlem. As a child Bearden lived just a few blocks from the Savoy Ballroom, and for sixteen years he worked in an art studio above the landmark Apollo Theatre in Harlem. However, the connection between Bearden’s work and jazz goes beyond subject matter to include style and composition, incorporating such aspects as improvisation and call and response.

Bearden’s work is included in many important public collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, among others. He was the recipient of many awards and honors, most notably the National Medal of Arts presented by President Ronald Reagan in 1987.

Organized by the University of Richmond Museums and curated by Richard Waller, Executive Director, University Museums, the exhibition is made possible in part with funds from the Louis S. Booth Arts Fund.