KATHRYN EARNHART | The Butlers Black Americans have contributed greatly

The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown houses works from four centuries by American artists of all cultural backgrounds.
Always on view within Butler galleries are works by some of this country's most prominent Black American artists. (The term Black American is used by art historians to define a group apart from Caucasians that includes those whose lineage is either African or Caribbean.)
Ranging from John James Audubon (1785-1851) to the 20th-century sculptor Richard Hunt, this Butler collection of works by Black Americans demonstrates that this group varied not only in life experiences, but also in their chosen forms of expression, in their reactions to political events and the times in which they lived -- a feature of all other classifications of America's artists.
Although skin color may have created a unique burden for these artists, they nevertheless emerge as a group whose contribution to American culture is a forceful one.
According to Butler Director Dr. Louis Zona, "The Butler is blessed to have works in its permanent collection by some of the most honored African-American painters and sculptors. While most people immediately think of the Butler's great examples by such prominent artists as Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence and John James Audubon -- one should not overlook outstanding works by artists ranging from Richard Hunt and Sam Gilliam to our own Al Bright."
Featured artists
John James Audubon (whose mother was Haitian), is known for his lifetime devotion to the depiction of North America's animal and plant life.
His contemporary, Robert Scott Duncanson (1821-1872) -- considered by many to be the first black man to earn a living as a painter -- ranks within the prestigious American group of artists known as the Hudson River School. (Works by both men may be viewed in the Butler's first-floor James Gallery.)
One of the best-loved 20th-century Butler works is "Zachariah," a portrayal of human brotherhood that was painted in 1943 Horace Pippin (1888-1946).
During World War I, Pippin, while serving his country in a segregated regiment, was wounded in the shoulder by a German sniper. Pippin taught himself painting as a rehabilitation exercise. In 1938, four of his works were selected for an exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern Art, and later the Philadelphia collector, Dr. Albert Barnes, became one of Pippin's patrons.
Merging cultures
Another prized Butler work titled "El Pueblo Espa & ntilde;ol Firma por La Paz" was created by Elizabeth Catlett (b. 1915), an artist known for her merging of Mexican, black American and American Indian themes. (Catlett became famous for her series of paintings called "I Am a Negro Woman," based on her experiences in Harlem as an educator.)
The Butler work titled "Hometime" also an art-lovers' favorite, by Romare Howard Bearden (1914-1988), is an excellent example of the modernist style, combining paint with collage. This work portrays a happy daily life -- one of Bearden's most famous themes.
Master painter Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) was the son of a Pennsylvania coal miner who moved with his mother to Harlem at the age of 3. He studied with the pioneer black American artist, Charles Alston in the 1930s, did occasional work on W.P.A. projects, and emerged with other gifted artists as the famous Harlem Renaissance gave way to the Great Depression.
One of several works by this artist in the Butler collection, "The Street," is a fine example of Lawrence's signature cubist style.
Others included
Other Black American artists included in the collection whose works are currently on view are: Richard Hunt (b. 1935), Benny Andrews (b. 1930), Sam Gilliam (b. 1930), Joseph Holston (b. 1944), Bill Dotson (b. 1948) and Alfred Bright (b. 1940).
For special programs that accompany the Butler's black American holdings, call the museum's education department at (330) 743-1107, Ext. 114. For a virtual exhibition of related images, visit the www.butlerart.com Youngstown site, and open the "just for the web" link.
Digital photo exhibit
Currently on view in the Butler Institute's Flad Gallery (Beecher south wing) are digital photographs by Pittsburgh artist Mark Perrott. This exhibition, ROYGBIV, draws its title from a mnemonic aid used by schoolchildren to remember the spectrum -- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, or ROYGBIV. These portraits feature wildly coiffed subjects who answered Perrott's invitation to "share their hair."
Accompanying the show is a computer presentation of images of the artist's subjects juxtaposed against their words and reactions to their portraits.
According to Mark Perrott, "Over the past couple of years I've created portraits of individuals that have made wonderfully outrageous decisions about their hair color and style. I painted seven 8-by-8-foot canvas backdrops these same colors and took them on location to various venues, mostly bars and clubs in and around Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania in search of subjects. Mike Savitsky, a designer who works in Ann Arbor, Michigan, created a carte-de-visit titled 'Share Your Hair' that I present to prospective subjects that I met by chance on the street. This work began with only one intention -- to fill the frame with saturated color. Now that I have met and photographed more than 80 subjects many themes have emerged, especially the decisions we make to separate and assert our own identity."
This exhibition continues through April 4.
XButler hours in Youngstown are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday noon to 4 p.m. Butler hours at the Trumbull branch are Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Butler Salem hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to all three facilities is free.