Betty Blayton (1937 - 2016), Vibes Penetrated, 1983, acrylic on canvas, diameter: 60 3/4 in. Spelman College Museum of Fine Art. Spelman College Purchase. © Estate of Betty Blayton

Silver Linings

Guest Curator: julia elizabeth neal

August 24, 2024 — January 5, 2025

Taubman I

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.

Carrie Mae Weems (b. 1953), Color Real and Imagined, 2014, archival inkjet print with silkscreen color blocks, 54 3/4 x 38 3/4 in. Spelman College Museum of Fine Art. Gift of Laural Shackelford.

Apr 17, 2024

Events Presented in Conjunction with “Silver Linings” Exhibition Showcasing 100 Years of Black Art Collecting by Spelman College.

Select Works On View

Emma Amos (1937 - 2020), 2/4 Time, 1984, mixed media, 37 x 47 in. Spelman College Museum of Fine Art. Spelman College Purchase.

Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859 - 1969), Christ and His Disciples Before the Last Supper, 1908-1909, oil on canvas, 36 1/2 x 30 1/8 in. Spelman College Museum of Fine Art. Gift of Catherine and Chauncey Waddell.

Carrie Mae Weems (b. 1953), Color Real and Imagined, 2014, archival inkjet print with silkscreen color blocks, 54 3/4 x 38 3/4 in. Spelman College Museum of Fine Art. Gift of Laural Shackelford.

Betty Blayton (1937 - 2016), Vibes Penetrated, 1983, acrylic on canvas, diameter: 60 3/4 in. Spelman College Museum of Fine Art. Spelman College Purchase. © Estate of Betty Blayton

Support

Silver Linings: Celebrating the Spelman Art Collection is organized by Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta, Georgia, and curated by Liz Andrews and Karen Comer Lowe with initial contributions from Anne Collins Smith. The exhibition at the University of Michigan Museum of Art is guest curated by julia elizabeth neal.

Generous support for UMMA’s installation of the exhibition is provided by Art Bridges, the U-M Office of the Provost, and Gwendolyn Hatten Butler. Additional program support is provided by the Dr. Albert R. Bennett Museum Fund.