Harlem Renaissance - Gwendolyn Bennett (1902-1981)

Author: Bennett, Gwendolyn
Title: Exhibit by Karamu Artists; Associated American Art
This article yields great thought and insight into African American art and culture

Description: [Review] *Bennett, Gwendolyn, 1902-1981. Exhibit by Karamu Artists; Associated American Artists Gallery. 2p. Carbon copy on thin paper. 28cm. x 22cm. Very Good. The exhibition she is reviewing was probably held in 1942. We found reference to a Jan. 15, 1942 Art Digest article titled ""Negro Art from Cleveland's Karamu House." The exhibition included work by 26 artists, both professional and amateur which, according to Bennett, helped give the exhibition an uneven quality. Bennett names four exhibiting artists: Hughie Lee Smith, Charles Sallee, William E. Smith, and the sculptor Zell Ingram. Eleanor Roosevelt is identified as a member of the sponsoring committee. We don't know whether Bennett's review was published. Bennett was born in Giddings, Texas, and attended Columbia University and the Pratt Institute. Bennett studied art and had poetry published in The Crisis, Opportunity, and other magazines. From 1939 to 1944 she directed the Harlem Community Art Center. In later life, she worked for the Consumers Union. Upon retirement she established an antique shop in Kutztown, Pennsylvania.