Silver Linings

Celebrating the Spelman Art Collection

The art collection at Spelman College spans more than 100 years and showcases the rich history of African American art production. Silver Linings marks the 25th anniversary of the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, which was founded in 1996 with a mission to uplift art by and about women of the African diaspora.

Featuring 40 works from the Spelman collection, Silver Linings displays a wide range of artistic styles, materials, and historical contexts. Artists on view in this exhibition explore questions of identity, use of color, materiality, history, the concept of “place,” and many others that reflect the diverse experiences and thoughts within an African diaspora born in, or migrating to, the United States and western Europe.

The exhibition includes works by Amalia Amaki, Emma Amos, Benny Andrews, Firelei Báez, Herman “Kofi” Bailey, Romare Bearden, Betty Blayton, Beverly Buchanan, Selma Burke, Elizabeth Catlett, Floyd Coleman, Renée Cox, Myra Greene, Sam Gilliam, Glenn Ligon, Howardena Pindell, Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, Lucille Malkia Roberts, Deborah Roberts, Faith Ringgold, Nellie Mae Rowe, Lorna Simpson, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Lina Iris Viktor, Carrie Mae Weems, Charles White, and Hale Woodruff.