Allan Rohan Crite

Earning and adopting the title of "artist-reporter," Allan Rohan Crite recorded the people, architecture, and daily life of African Americans in Boston's Roxbury and South End districts during the 1930s and 1940s. His oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, and prints capture the parades, games, conversations, work, and spirit of a past era with expressive lines and vivid colors. Depicting his own American scene, his images have a universal appeal as they speak of family, work, and church ties, friendly and loving relationships, and the commonplace beauty found in daily life. For many years, Crite has been admired and acknowledged by a distinguished circle of artists, experts, and academics who specialize in African American art, but his work is little known nationally. This book presents the work of this significant, yet under-recognized artist to a wider audience. With more than 40 works in full-color, this beautifully illustrated book includes three essays describing Crite's life and the context of his work.