A rarity coming up

Aaron Douglas: African American Modernist presents "the first nationally touring retrospective of Aaron Douglas (1899-1979), one of the most influential visual artists of the Harlem Renaissance. This exhibition brings together more than 80 rarely seen works by the artist, including paintings, prints, drawings and illustrations."

The show opens at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in DC on May 9, and runs through August 3, 2008.

I really hate the segregation of art by race or ethnicity, but once in a while something stands out so grossly out of synch that it must be pointed out.

This coming show is also a rarity for the DC area museums: an exhibition by a black artist.

Example: As far as I know the National Gallery has only hosted one exhibition in its entire history by a black artist, in this case African American artist Romare Bearden.

The Corcoran has done a little better, most recently hosting Sam Gilliam's first retrospective. Jonathan Binstock, then the Corcoran curator, had done his thesis on Gilliam, so I am sure that this helped get this DC art star a long overdue museum show in his own city. And the Phillips Collection certainly has paid attention to my old professor Jacob Lawrence with a couple of traveling exhibitions.

But some black artists are way overdue for the kind of exposure that an NGA show can afford an artist. My first suggestion is Wifredo Lam.

Any others? Feel free to comment.