Illustrations by Délice Williams
Acceptance to Empowerment: Comparing Black Female Artists? Use of Stereotypes
Re-creation is a powerful technique that all traditional artists must master. By being able to emulate various skills, upcoming artists can learn from professionals in the industry and apply this newfound knowledge to their artwork. In my senior year of high school, I was tasked to use this concept to recreate a historical artist’s work. Coincidentally, it was also Black History Month, which prompted my art teacher to encourage us to recreate the work of a famous Black artist and to provide us with a comprehensive list of Black artists from American history. When perusing this list to choose a piece to paint, I noticed one predominant detail: The majority of the people on the list were male. Ignoring this jarring detail, as I simply wanted an A” on the assignment, I chose Jacob Lawrence’s Forward (Fig. 1) to reproduce. The painting, which illustrates Harriet Tubman guiding fugitive enslaved peoples into the North, is a simple, but powerful display of the fear fugitive people escaping their enslavers experienced. It resonated with me deeply and allowed me to conceptualize how the struggles of humanity are often portrayed through artwork. However, these obstacles are not predominantly faced by Black men, contrary to the list my art teacher bestowed me with.
Instead of only recognizing the male perspective of racial struggles, Black history can be viewed through the lens of Black women to better reveal the experiences of the community. Although interpretations of history through the male gaze are important to acknowledge, by exclusively recognizing the experiences of Black men, only half of the African-American community is represented. Recognition of Black artists during the Harlem Renaissance, one of the most pivotal Black art movements in American history, forefronts this issue. The works of many profound male Harlem Renaissance artists such as Jacob Lawrence, Aaron Douglas, and Archibald Motley have been praised for their sophisticated portrayals of Black American history. However, these works often fail to illustrate the more personal struggles of the arguably most marginalized community within the United States. Black female artists of the Harlem Renaissance are scarcely acknowledged for their artistic work and, when they are, their existence is what is discussed, not the purpose of their artwork. This purpose references fundamental racial discussions intersecting with the Black experience that shapes Black culture and media. Although Black women have confronted immeasurable instances of racial issues within their artwork, the lingering portrayal of stereotypes associated with Black women remains a constant theme. In these pieces, Black women are depicted with artistic interpretations and reclamations of common racist stereotypes with the intent of dignifying Black women and their natural physique. Despite the constant use of stereotypes within Black artwork, spanning from the Harlem Renaissance to the present day, the intent and audience of these pieces have shifted dramatically over time. Analytical comparison of Black female artists’ work reveals how the portrayal of stereotypes has been used to first dignify the image of Black women to a white audience in the Harlem Renaissance, and then eventually celebrate Blackness to other Black women in modernity.
Depictions of dignified Black women in art have spanned for decades, distinctly within the Harlem Renaissance art movement. The Harlem Renaissance (1914 – the 1940s), which can be considered one of the most pivotal Black arts movements in American history, produced many influential pieces of artwork which serve to be exceptional references of Black art from the past. Lean’tin Bracks and Jessie Smith, in their book Women of the Harlem Renaissance, describe that this momentous era was initiated in order to reject the overall stereotypes regarding African Americans and confront the racist, social, political, and economic ideas that denied citizenship and access to the ‘American Dream,’” (13). Through the Harlem Renaissance, Black artists and writers were able to produce artwork and literature that sought to combat preconceived notions about African Americans post-abolition. Black women particularly resonated within this movement as, historically, Black women were bound by racism and further defined and limited by oversexualized gender stereotypes and perceived limited intellectual abilities,” (Bracks and Smith 16). By producing artwork that countered the harmful ideologies that previously deterred them, Black women of the Harlem Renaissance could paint themselves in a new, positive light to primarily white Americans.
To remove the stereotypes associated with African Americans, Black artists during the Harlem Renaissance often portrayed their Black subjects as sophisticated and mannerly, otherwise known as the New Negro.” Lisa Farrington’s Creating Their Own Image, which discusses the reclamation of Black female identity, suggests that artists of the Harlem Renaissance had to depict themselves as attractive, cosmopolitan, and fashionable – a potent foil for the widespread depictions of people of color,” (82). Previous stereotypes held by white Americans saw Black women as distasteful and ill-mannered. However, by painting Black women as elegant and high-fashion, white viewers could be exposed to the positive identity of the so-called New Negro.”
To represent Black women as high-class, they were often painted in ways where they appeared gentle and well-mannered. Laura Wheeler Waring (1887-1948) greatly exemplified this idealized image of the fashionable and classy New Negro” through her artwork during the Harlem Renaissance. Farrington recounts that Waring’s artwork features, ?…portraits of her friends, family, and Harlem literati, [who were] paradigmatic of the images of upscale blacks that marked the Harlem Renaissance,” (82). Although these paintings of her upper-class Black connections may seem superficial at the surface level, Explore PA History, Pennsylvania’s Historical Marker Program’s official website that studied and wrote about Waring’s life, proposes that Waring believ[ed] that images of non-threatening African Americans who had made major contributions to American society would win more friends for the cause than throwing their racism back in their face,” (Explore PA History). Through her uplifting portrayal of her upper-class Black connections, more white individuals would be indirectly suggested to view Black people positively, contrary to aggressively addressing their racism. By almost exclusively portraiting individuals such as W.E.B. DuBois, James Weldon Johnson, and Harry Thacker Burleigh, Waring’s artwork featured the epitome of the New Negro,” a league of educated, distinguished Black individuals. To accentuate premier Black women to cultivate this narrative, Waring also painted high-class Black women, such as singer Marian Anderson (Fig. 2) and writer Jessie Redmon Fauset (Fig. 3). In these paintings, Marian Anderson and Jessie Redmon Fauset are posed elegantly in beautiful, expensive dresses, appearing as upscale and sophisticated. These portraits displayed the achievements and dignity of her people,” depicting the women as distinguished and chic as well as commemorating their success in the arts as Black women (Explore PA History). By dignifying Black women through the invalidation of stereotypes, Waring sought to prove that all Black women were capable of being classy, intelligent, and well mannered.
In addition to the more social stereotypes associated with the Black community, female artists in the Harlem Renaissance also used their artwork to combat physical stereotypes. These stereotypes were often perpetuated through racist fictional characters or caricatures. Dr. David Pilgrim, a Professor of Sociology at Ferris State University, describes these characters as having very dark skin, blood red grinning lips and raggedy clothes,” in his study of the many racist caricatures of the Jim Crow Era (Pilgrim). Racist caricatures such as Mammy” and Sapphire” exhibited these attributes, often being used to mock Black women and their physical features by portraying them as ugly and low-class. However, by repurposing some of the negative features of these caricatures and portraying them as beautiful or valuable, these Black female artists could dignify their subjects to a white audience while also dismantling these racist, overexaggerated figures.
Mixed African American and Mexican artist, Elizabeth Catlett (1915-2012), used her artwork to directly oppose these racist caricatures by embracing and exulting the natural, physical features of Black women. Her work in the Harlem Renaissance consisted largely of sculptures and prints of Black women. Kovie Biakolo, a journalist from the Smithsonian Museum, describes that Catlett aimed to portray both modern womanhood and deep African ancestry” in her art (Biakolo). By focusing on these themes and celebrating the features of African American women, Catlett was able to argue to all people that Black women are beautiful, disregarding harmful stereotypes about their physical attributes. Catlett’s Head of a Negro Woman (Fig. 4) greatly showcases this effort. The terracotta sculpture portrays the head of an African American woman with shaved hair and no pupils, creating a piercing, haunting presence, while the turn of the chin is almost defiant” (Biakolo). This intense and powerful image of defiance commemorates the distinguishable features of African American women confidently and unapologetically. Catlett’s choices defy the ridicule of Black features that were typical of the time, as she has taken a wide nose and thick lips, often-mocked attributes of Black women, and exalted them” (Biakolo). By emphasizing the features of Black women that were often used to mock them, Catlett argues to a white audience that these attributes are both elegant and powerful.
In conjunction with celebrating the physical attributes of Black women, Catlett also includes themes of motherhood frequently within her artwork. These two concepts work together simultaneously to disprove one of the most prominent, stereotypical caricatures of the Jim Crow Era, Mammy.” Pilgrim describes the Mammy” caricature to portray an obese, coarse, maternal figure. She had a great love for her white ‘family’ but often treated her own family with disdain” (Pilgrim). The Mammy” character would frequently be used to mock Black house- servant women’s physical attributes while suggesting that Black women loved their white families more than their own. Additionally, the use of this caricature often led to the idea that Black women would neglect their children to caretake their white employer’s children. To contradict this myth, Catlett’s artwork features themes of maternity expressed by her Black subjects. As described by Darby English and Charlotte Barat, writers from the Museum of Modern Art, a mother and child are featured with tenderly detailed aspects of Black physiognomies such as tightly curled hair, broad noses and full lips” in multiple of Catlett’s sculptures and linocuts (English and Barat 158). Although the idea of motherhood is universal among all ethnicities and cultures, Catlett focuses on accentuating the traits of African Americans to portray Black motherhood especially. Catlett’s Mother and Child (Fig. 5) holds true to this theme, suggesting the presence of Black motherly love, contrary to the Mammy” stereotype that disregards her own children. Contrasting with Pilgrim’s description of the ugly, obese, and white-loving Mammy,” English and Barat describe the mother’s demeanor in Mother and Child as appearing as private, protective, and introspective tenderness” (English and Barat 158). By portraying the mother as loving and protective of her child, the Mammy” stereotype is dismantled. Together with the depiction of the New Negro” in Black female art, Black women were perceived as distinguished individuals in contrast to the stereotypes associated with them.
Succeeding the Harlem Renaissance, caricatures such as Mammy” are no longer socially acceptable, further affirming the success of the Harlem Renaissance artists’ efforts. However, lingering stereotypes that remained from the Jim Crow Era are still present in society’s perception of Black women. Although these stereotypes are not as blatant as during the Harlem Renaissance, contemporary Black female artists continue to work on dismantling these negative perceptions through their artwork. In addition to this, modern Black female artists also attempt to empower other Black women through their artwork. While art from the Harlem Renaissance primarily focused on portraying Black women as respectable and divergent from the negative caricatures associated with them, contemporary artists aim to empower Black women. This art is more intended for a Black female audience to make them feel comfortable and empowered in their own skin, contrary to the art of the Harlem Renaissance which was intended for a largely white audience.
By portraying Black women as individuals beyond their stereotypes, other Black women viewing the artwork can feel empowered by their Blackness. Amy Sherald (1973) greatly exemplifies this idea of Black female empowerment through her artwork while also combatting modern stereotypes that Black women may feel about themselves. Andrea Karnes, an editor for the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, describes in her book Women Painting Women that Amy Sherald is an American painter of the every day and a Black figure painter who paints Black people” (Karnes 70). By painting Black women specifically, Sherald commentates on issues of race and gender as well as what Black womanhood encompasses. In Sherald’s painting, A Midsummer Afternoon Dream (Fig. 6), a Black woman is depicted in a blue dress sitting against a bike in a tranquil sea of green grass and blue sky. Although the painting seems simple, Sherald describes that Black women are often codified to represent resistance” and that her painting attempts to dismantle this notion (Karnes 70). Following the Civil Rights movement and more recent events such as Black Lives Matter, Black women are often labeled as angry, rebellious, and spiteful of white people. In contrast to this, the Black woman in A Midsummer Afternoon Dream is engaging in the leisurely activity of flower picking in a tranquil environment. Karnes interprets this scene as a depiction of the freedom for a Black woman to experience leisure time. The title and scene work together to convey a sense of serenity and relaxation” (Karnes 70). By establishing an air of peace and recreation, Sherald works to dismantle the idea of the angry Black woman” while also empowering Black women by encouraging them to enjoy their private leisure moments. This allows Black women to view themselves as individuals beyond the stereotypical image of resistance. Utilizing these modern emotional stereotypes ? such as the angry Black woman” ? and dismantling them encourages Black women to celebrate their Blackness and see themselves beyond the stereotypes associated with the demographic.
Although Black female artists from the Harlem Renaissance utilized similar techniques as modern artists, such as the portrayal of Black women that contrasts with common stereotypes, the intent of their artwork has greatly shifted. Amy Sherald’s work exemplifies this as her artwork aims to combat the angry Black woman” stereotype while empowering other Black women. This contrasts with artists from the Harlem Renaissance, such as Laura Wheeler Waring and Elizabeth Catlett, who cater to a white audience and attempt to dismiss stereotypes that they may hold about Black people. Each artist portrays their subjects as beautiful and dignified, however, Sherlad’s work caters to a Black audience instead of a white one. In addition to this, contemporary Black female artists, including Sherald, utilize the same technique of portraying stereotypical physical features of Black women and exulting them, now to make them appear more beautiful to Black women instead of seeking acceptance from white people. In contrast to the Harlem Renaissance, these pieces are intended for a Black female audience in order for Black women to feel more comfortable with their physical appearance. As Black physical features do not typically align with white, Western beauty standards, these artists must use the Black female body to represent power and strength.
In order to depict the Black female body as empowering, contemporary artist Renee Cox (1960) photographs her own body in powerful situations to emphasize the beauty of her Blackness. Her series Raje embodies this. Raje, a superhero played by herself, is featured in eleven collage-style prints. Tom Breidenbach describes Raje in the 1998 Summer Artforum Magazine as a Black woman With dreads piled high on her head, a skintight synthetic outfit in colors of the Jamaican and Rastafarian flags, and black rubber thigh-high boots, she shows up in wrong-righting, justice” (Breidenbach). Cox’s superhero persona incorporates distinct, stereotypical Black features such as her dreads to create a physically empowering model of Black femininity. She further develops this idea through her piece Raje to the Rescue (Fig. 7) which portrays Raje flying in front of the Great Sphinx undergoing physical demolition to its nose. Through this piece, Cox commentates on Louis Farrakhan’s claim that Napoleon had the nose of the Great Sphinx blasted off in order to obscure the statue’s African features,” (Breidenbach). By sending Raje to the rescue for this supposed historical event, Cox suggests that the African features of the Sphinx should be celebrated, not destroyed. This can be further translated into a statement of Black women empowering other Black women and their physical features, with Raje being a model for Black female strength and justice. This artwork compares and contrasts with Elizabeth Catlett’s sculptures, as they both use similar techniques of portraying figures with stereotypical Black physical features, but to different ends. Cox displays these stereotypical features as empowering to other Black women as the features of Raje make her a superhero. However, Catlett’s artwork mainly appeals to a white audience that views these natural physical features as negative and attempts to dismantle these preconceived notions. These contrasting artistic purposes represent the gradual switch in audience that Black female artists experienced from the Harlem Renaissance to the present day.
By comparing the works of contemporary artists such as Renee Cox to past artists like Elizabeth Catlett, it is apparent that both the audience and the purpose of Black female art have shifted over time. While art from the Harlem Renaissance aimed to create a positive perception of Black women in white society, modern art focuses on empowering Black women by portraying themselves as strong and beautiful. In both the past and the present, Black art has attempted to dismantle racial stereotypes while also utilizing them to celebrate Black features. Although these stereotypes have morphed over time, Black artists’ use of them within their work remains constant. Because of the efforts of these artists, people from all ethnicities and cultures can appreciate Black femininity, bringing society closer to racial equality and celebrating Blackness as a whole.
Appendix
Fig. 1. Jacob Lawrence – Forward 1967 Jacob Lawrence’s Forward depicts Harriet Tubman pushing a fugitive Black man while three fugitive Black women, one with a baby, follow.
Fig. 2. Laura Wheeler Waring – Marian Anderson 1944, Oil on canvas
Laura Wheeler Waring’s Marian Anderson depicts Marian Anderson, prominent Black female singer in an elegant red dress.
Fig. 3. Laura Wheeler Waring – Jessie Redmon Fauset 1945, Oil on canvas
Laura Wheeler Waring’s Jessie Redmon Fauset portrays Jessie Redmon Fauset sitting sideways in a chair. Jessie Redmon Fauset is wearing a green dress and is gazing at the side of the frame.
Fig. 4. Elizabeth Catlett – Head of a Negro Woman 1946, Terracotta
Elizabeth Catlett’s Head of a Negro Woman is a terracotta sculpture of the head of a Black woman. The woman has no pupils.
Fig. 5. Elizabeth Catlett – Mother and Child 1956, Terracotta
Elizabeth Catlett’s Mother and Child is a terracotta sculpture of a Black woman sitting on a pedestal in a plain dress. The woman is cradling her child in her lap, holding it tenderly.
Fig. 6. Amy Sherald – A Midsummer Afternoon Dream 2020, Oil on canvas
Amy Sherald’s A Midsummer Afternoon Dream depicts a Black woman leaning against a bike that holds flowers and a small, white animal. The woman has grayer skin tones and is wearing a blue dress and sun visor. She is situated in a green field, in front of a white picket fence, sunflowers, and a blue sky.
Fig 7. Renee Cox – Raje to the Rescue 1998, Cibachrome print
Renee Cox’s Raje to the Rescue portrays Raje flying in front of the Great Sphinx and the Egyptian pyramid. Raje is a Black woman with dreads wearing a superhero suit that represents the Jamaican flag. She is also adorned with silver wrist cuffs and black and red knee-high boots. The Great Sphinx’s nose is being exploded off while a crowd of onlookers watches.
Author: Isabel Wilson, Honors College, Class of 2026
Artwork has always been a way for me to express myself and channel my experiences into a physical form. In my final ENGL110 paper, I aspired to view traditional artwork from a new angle as I was challenged throughout the course to consider unfamiliar ideologies and perspectives. In class, we discussed the Harlem Renaissance era and the impact that Black writers had on American history. This awoke fond memories of my senior art class where we recreated famous Harlem Renaissance paintings while discussing their impact and meaning. However, when I recollected the artists that were featured in this class, I recalled that none of them were women. Female representation has always been a struggle within the art world and I wanted to focus on the perspectives of these often-overlooked artists in my essay. Specifically, I wished to view Black struggles from a female perspective. When researching the Harlem Renaissance, I discovered that many artists created their artwork to disprove various stereotypes that were imposed on Black people to belittle and ridicule them. Recognizing this common theme throughout Black artwork, I decided to utilize this focal point to compare past and present art created by Black female artists. After comparing past and present art pieces, I noticed that, although they included the use of stereotypes, their intentions varied greatly. Past pieces focused on white approval while recent pieces worked to exult Black features. Throughout my paper, I discuss the significance of this while featuring the works of many remarkable Black women from the Harlem Renaissance and the present day.
When writing this paper, I sought to recognize the efforts of Black female artists from both the past and the present and emphasize the overall messages of their works. I aspire that this paper will join the greater discussion on Black history from a Black female perspective and the impact of stereotypes on the Black community. When reading this, I hope that others are inspired to view the world from new angles. In addition to this, I hope individuals of all backgrounds are inspired to create artwork to share their own powerful life experiences with others, similar to the influential women within my essay.
Instructor: Brett Seekford
In the Fall 2022 semester, I taught an Honors section of ENGL110 under the theme Black Performance, Politics, Possibility.” By taking up the concept of rhetorical performance, the students and I analyzed various texts by Black authors with the aim of charting different genealogies of Black intellectual history and the rhetorical strategies used by writers to advance those visions. From James Weldon Johnson’s Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man to Amiri Baraka’s Dutchman and J. California Cooper’s Family, we studied numerous historical periods and political beliefs, and students sought to connect their legacy to the present. Izzy Wilson brought an original approach to this assignment, analyzing the visual rhetoric of Black women artists from the Harlem Renaissance and their connection to Black women’s artwork today. With her Comparative Research Paper, she leveraged her own background as an artist, bringing fascinating insights to the focal historical period without sacrificing its contemporary resonance. Perhaps most impressive is her ability to balance examples with broader interpretations rather than getting sidelined by evidence. In completing an assignment featuring a proposal, three drafts, peer workshops, and a one-on-one instructor conference, Izzy stayed true to her purpose and passions?and that made all the difference.
Works Cited
Biakolo, Kovie. How Elizabeth Catlett Lifted Up Black Women Through Art.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 1 Sep. 2022, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/elizabeth-catlett-lifted-up-black-women-through-art-180980556/.
Bracks, Lean’tin L. and Smith, Jessie Carney. Black Women of the Harlem Renaissance. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.
Breidenbach, Tom. Renée Cox.” Artforum International, vol. 36, no. 10, Summer 1998. https://www.artforum.com/print/reviews/199806/renee-cox-51732
English, Darby and Barat, Charlotte. Among Others: Blackness at MoMA. Museum of Modern Art, 2019.
Explore PA History. Laura Wheeler Waring Historical Marker.” Explorepahistory.com, PA Historical Marker Program, n.d., https://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-1A5.
Farrington, Lisa. Creating Their Own Image. Oxford University Press, 2005.
Karnes, Andrea. Women Painting Women. DelMonico Books/Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 2022.
Pilgrim, David. The Mammy Caricature.” Ferris.edu, Ferris State University, Oct. 2000, https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/mammies/homepage.htm.