Memory and Metaphor

This catalogue documents a retrospective exhibition on the Afro-American artist Romare Bearden (1914-1988), held at the Studio Museum, Harlem, USA. About 100 prints, drawings and paintings were displayed, ranging from the cubist figurative pieces of the 1940s, to the lyrical abstract works of the 1950s and 1960s, to the later collages Bearden created. The catalogue depicts in colour about 25% of the works in the exhibition. An essay by Sharon Patton focuses on the themes, styles and iconography, examining Bearden's work within the context of American art, jazz, myth and spirituality.