New York Times
New York Times: Photographic Portraits of the Year's Best Actors (2004)
This portfolio of black-and-white portraits of Oscar-nominated film stars captures a range of faces, poses, moods, and points of view. Excellent site for comparing and criticizing artistic choices and approaches and for inspiring...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Kara Walker
Biographical information on Kara walker, an American installation artist who used intricate cut-paper silhouettes, together with collage, drawing, painting, performance, film, video, shadow puppetry, light projection, and animation, to...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Augusta Savage
Read interesting facts about the life of American sculptor and educator, Augusta Savage, who battled racism to secure a place for African American women in the art world.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Kerry James Marshall
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Kerry James Marshall, an African American painter and printmaker whose work examines aspects of black culture in the United States. His unique images extend the grand traditions of history...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Henry Ossawa Tanner
Brief biography on Henry Tanner, an American painter who gained international acclaim for his depiction of landscapes and biblical themes.
John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: Alvin Ailey
At this site from the John F. Kennedy Center you can read about the life and accomplishments of American choreographer, Alvin Ailey.
Other
Whitney Museum: Jacob Lawrence: Exploring Stories
A look at Jacob Lawrence and his art, and instructions on how to make your own tempera paints and "paint your own story," using Lawrence's work as inspiration.
Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago: Art Access: Aaron Douglas: Aspects of Negro Life
This resource presents information about a preparatory gouache made by Douglas, in 1934, for a mural commissioned by the Works Progress Administration.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: George Allan Russell
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features George Allan Russell, an American jazz artist born June 23, 1923, Cincinnati, Ohio .
PBS
Pbs News Hour: Hollywood Blacklisting
Provides a written transcript or a Real Audio version of the interview of two blacklisted artists.
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How Art Gives Shape to Cultural Change
Thelma Golden, curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem, talks through three recent shows that explore how art examines and redefines culture. The "post-black" artists she works with are using their art to provoke a new dialogue about race...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Guide to Black History: Duke Ellington
Biography of Duke Ellington, one of the originators of big band jazz, and a noted composer.
Other
Ernie barnes.com
Ernie Barnes is renowned in two fields of endeavor. He was a professional football player in the 1960s, but gained more recognition as a painter than as a player. This site offers a biography as well as images of many of his paintings.
Other
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art: Romare Bearden
The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art contains a summary of Bearden's life, some of his art, key ideas, discussion questions, and links to additional resources.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Bessie Smith
Read detailed biographical information on the "Empress of the Blues", Bessie Smith, a 1989 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Includes a timeline of key events and essential songs list.
Curated OER
Introduction
This site explores Black America's quest for equality from the early national period through the twentieth century. Content includes the work of abolitionists in the first half of the nineteenth century, depictions of the long journey...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Laura Wheeler Waring
Short biographical sketch on Laura Wheeler Waring, an American painter and educator who often depicted African American subjects.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Herbie Hancock
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Herbie Hancock, an American keyboard player, songwriter, and bandleader, a prolific recording artist who achieved success as an incisive, harmonically provocative jazz pianist and then...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Shirley Horn
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Shirley Horn, an American jazz artist whose ballads, sung in a breathy contralto to her own piano accompaniment, earned her both critical acclaim and popular renown. This site, rich in...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: R. Kelly
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features R. Kelly, an American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who became one of the best-selling rhythm-and-blues (R&B) artists of the 1990s and early 21st century....
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Janet Jackson
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Janet Jackson, an American singer and actress whose increasingly mature version of dance-pop music made her one of the most popular recording artists of the 1980s and '90s.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Kanye West
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Kanye West, an American producer and rapper who parlayed his production success in the late 1990s and early 2000s into a career as a popular, critically acclaimed solo artist.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Little Brother Montgomery
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Little Brother Montgomery, a major African-American blues artist who was also an outstanding jazz pianist and vocalist. He cowrote "The Forty-Fours," a complex composition for piano that...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Ludacris
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Ludacris, an American rapper who exemplified the Dirty South school of hip-hop, an exuberant, profanity-laden musical style popularized by artists in the southern United States. Ludacris's...