Romare Bearden

Romare Howard Bearden (1911–1988) was celebrated for his innovative work, spanning paintings, drawings, collages and photomontages, that explores themes of African American life, culture and history. Born in 1911 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and raised in Harlem, New York, Bearden’s early exposure to the Harlem Renaissance profoundly shaped his artistic vision. He was not only a visual artist but also an author, musician and social activist, whose work contributed significantly to the narrative of Black identity in the United States.

Romare Bearden’s most iconic works are his collages, which blend fragments of everyday life into complex, multi-layered compositions. They often depict scenes from African American culture, combining images from magazines, newspapers, and personal photographs with hand-painted details to create a patchwork of experiences and memories and narratives that are at once personal and universal.

Bearden studied at Lincoln University, later transferred to Boston University and completed his studies at New York University with a degree in education. During his university years, Bearden was active in various campus publications, holding roles including art director of Beanpot, the student humour magazine in Boston University, and art editor of New York University’s monthly journal The Medley. Bearden also attended the Art Students League in New York and the Sorbonne in Paris.

In 1935 Romare Bearden joined the Harlem Artists Guild and began his lifelong career in art. His influences ranged from Old Masters such as Duccio, Giotto and Pieter de Hooch to leading Impressionist and modern figures like Paul Cezanne, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. From the mid-1930s to the 1960s, the artist was a social worker with the New York City Department of Social Service, while dedicating his afterhours to honing his art. His first solo exhibition was held in Harlem in 1940 and later in 1944 he put on his first solo show in Washington, D.C. In the early 1970s, Bearden and his wife, Nanette Rohan, established their second home on the Caribbean island of St Martin. There, Bearden dedicated some of his later works to depict the island’s rich landscape.

Romare Bearden died in 1988 in New York City, aged 76. He enjoyed a prolific and successful career. Major institutions like The Studio Museum in Harlem and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., have held posthumous retrospectives paying tribute to Romare Bearden, one of the most original artists of the 20th century.