Archibald Motley Documentary | Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist

HOME
ABOUT
TIMELINE
ART
STORIES
Press
CATALOGUE

19
Mar

Archibald Motley Documentary

Posted by rachel / Video

← Previous
Next →

Many people have never heard of Archibald Motley, although he is one of this country’s most significant 20th-century artists. The modernist painter belongs in the annals of art history, made clear by the exhibition Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist. We invite you to explore STORIES, a collection of links, blog posts, discoveries and ephemera from the rich and fascinating world of Archibald Motley. This page is updated regularly.

Tags

INDYWeek Exhibition at the Nasher student left of black mark anthony neal Curator Duke Today Art Institute Video tour Chicago Richard J. Powell

919-684-5135
nasherinfo@duke.edu
Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University 2001 Campus Drive Durham, NC 27705

Get in touch

Name

Email

Message

Thank you! Message sent.

Error! Please validate your fields.

IMAGES AT TOP IN ORDER OF ROTATION, ALL IMAGES ARE PICTURED IN FULL IN THE ART SECTION: 1) Archibald J. Motley Jr., Hot Rhythm, (detail), 1961. Oil on canvas, 40 x 48.375 inches (101.6 x 122.9 cm). Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. 2) Archibald J. Motley Jr., The Octoroon Girl, (detail), 1925. Oil on canvas, 38 x 30.25 inches (96.5 x 76.8 cm). Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, New York. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. 3) Archibald J. Motley, Jr., Black Belt, (detail), 1934. Oil on canvas, 33 x 40.5 inches (83.8 x 102.9 cm). Collection of the Hampton University Museum, Hampton, Virginia. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. 4) Archibald J. Motley Jr., Barbecue, (detail), c. 1934. Oil on canvas, 39 x 44 inches (99.1 x 111.76 cm). Collection of the Howard University Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. 5) Archibald J. Motley Jr., Tongues (Holy Rollers), (detail), 1929. Oil on canvas, 29.25 x 36.125 inches (74.3 x 91.8 cm). Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. 6) Archibald J. Motley Jr., Blues, (detail), 1929. Oil on canvas, 36 x 42 inches (91.4 x 106.7 cm). Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois. © Valerie Gerrard Browne.

IMAGE CREDITS IN TIMELINE: Figure 6.1. Portrait of Archibald J. Motley Sr., New Orleans, Louisiana, c. 1890s. Photographic print. Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois, ICHi-67274. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. Figure 6.2. Portrait of Archibald J. Motley Jr., Chicago, Illinois, c. 1906. Photographic print. Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois, ICHi-67276. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. Figure 6.3. Archibald J. Motley Jr. (back row, third from left) and class at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, c. 1916. Photographic print. Charles C. Dawson Collection, DuSable Museum of African American History. A gift from Mrs. Mary R. Dawson. Figure 6.4. Portrait of the artist, Archibald J. Motley Jr., with his mother, Mary F. Huff Motley, c. 1920. Photographic print. Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois, ICHi-36510. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. Figure 6.5. Portrait of Edith Granzo Motley (Granzo married the artist Archibald J. Motley Jr. in 1924), n.d. Photographic print. Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois, ICHi-36506. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. Figure 6.6. Image of a nude young woman with verso inscription “The model Tomanek and I worked from in his Studio in Berwyn,” n.d. Photographic print. Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois, ICHi-27287. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. Figure 6.7. The artist Archibald J. Motley Jr. (back row, holding umbrella) and others at a gathering in what may be Joseph Tomanek’s studio, 1921. Photographic print. Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois, ICHi-67277. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. Figure 6.8. Cover of The Negro in Art Week catalogue, The Art Institute of Chicago, 1927. Printed material. The Brooklyn Museum, New York, from the Library of Camille and Luther Clark. Figure 6.9. Cover to catalogue regarding an exhibition of paintings by Archibald J. Motley Jr. at The New Gallery, New York, New York, 1928. Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois, ICHi-67678. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. Figure 6.10. Cover of brochure for Exhibit of Fine Arts by American Negro Artists, The Harmon Foundation, 1929. Photomechanical print, 5 × 8 inches (12.7 × 20.32 cm). Private collection, Durham, North Carolina. Figure 6.11. Portrait of the artist, Archibald J. Motley Jr. seated with legs crossed, Chicago, Illinois, 1929. Photographic print. Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois, ICHi16136. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. Figure 6.12. Robert S. Pious, Poster for the American Negro Exposition, 1865–1940, 1940. Silkscreen on cardboard, 21 × 13.5 inches (53.34 × 34.29 inches). Courtesy of the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature, Carter G. Woodson Regional Library, Chicago Public Library, Chicago, Illinois. William McBride Papers. Figure 6.13. Wayne F. Miller, Willard Motley, Archibald J. Motley Jr., and Mary Huff Motley (Hill) at Willard Motley’s book party for Knock on Any Door, Chicago, Illinois, 1947. Photograph. © Wayne Miller/Magnum Photos, NYC83692. Figure 6.14. Portrait of a group at Salto Sananton, Cuernavaca, Mexico, c. 1950s. Photographic print. Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois, ICHi-67285. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. Figure 6.15. David Jackson, Archibald J. Motley Jr. and artist Josephine Franklin studying shower curtain designs for Styletone, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1953. Photograph. Ebony Magazine, February 1953. Figure 6.16. Archibald J. Motley Jr. (on right) sitting at a table next to a young man in Mexico, c. 1950s. Photographic print. Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois, ICHi-67284. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. Figure 6.17. Sketch by Archibald J. Motley Jr. for “El Bodegón, Mexico” (drawing from page 13 of Mexican sketchbook #2), c. 1950s. Pencil on paper. Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois, Motley219. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. Figure 6.18. Archibald J. Motley Jr. (left), sitting on a couch with his son, Archibald J. Motley III (right) (also known as Archie Motley), 1961. Photographic print. Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois, ICHi-67280. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. Figure 6.19. Unidentified photographer, Artist Archibald J. Motley Jr. in front of his painting titled Self-Portrait (Myself at Work) (1933), c. 1960s. Kodachrome photograph. Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois. ICHi-67286/ Series 13-03. © Valerie Gerrard Browne.

Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist is organized and curated by Richard J. Powell, John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art, Art History & Visual Studies at Duke University.

Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist is made possible by the Terra Foundation for American Art; the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor; and the Henry Luce Foundation. Major support is provided by the Wyeth Foundation for American Art; Drs. Victor and Lenore Behar; the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources; and Deborah DeMott. Additional generous support is provided by Graduate Liberal Studies at Duke University, the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, Erickson Advisors, Parker and Otis, Lisa Lowenthal Pruzan and Jonathan Pruzan, Richard Tigner, Gail Belvett, the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation, Mindy and Guy Solie, The Chronicle, C.T. Woods-Powell and Richard J. Powell, and Angela O. Terry. This project is made possible in part by funding from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this web site do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

©2014 Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University
Website development by J Caldwell and Rachel Goodwin