Ancestry and Innovation: African American Art from the American Folk Art Museum

In Ancestry and Innovation:  African American Art from the American Folk Art Museum, we celebrate the enduring contribution of self-taught black artists to the American visual experience.  Featuring thirty-nine works by artists from the rural south and urban north, Ancestry and Innovation juxtaposes complex and vibrant quilts with works by a revered generation of artists.  From painters, sculptors, and collage artists such as Sam Doyle, David Butler, and Bessie Harvey to contemporary masters such as Thornton Dial to emerging talents such as Kevin Sampson and Willie LeRoy Elliott  to quilters such as Nora McKeon Ezell and Lureca Outland, these artists offer an eloquent vision of their life stories through works of powerful artistry.

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Ancestry and Innovation: African American Art from the American Folk Art Museum was organized by the American Folk Art Museum, New York, and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.  The exhibition was made possible by MetLife Foundation.