Romare Bearden

Romare Howard Bearden (1911 to 1988) was an American artist born in Charlotte, North Carolina, who grew up in New York City and Pittsburgh. Called by the New York Times, in its 1988 obituary of him, the nation's foremost collagist, he worked across painting, cartooning and oils as well as collage. His early compositions depicted scenes of the American South influenced by Mexican muralists; after World War II service he moved toward more abstract expressions of humanity, and from the early 1960s he pioneered a collage technique built from magazine clippings, photographs and other found materials. These large-scale collages explored African American experience, themes drawn from classical literature and scenes of daily ritual, making him a significant figure in both contemporary American art and the civil rights era.