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Related Resources Exhibition Overview Exhibition Feature Works by Romare Bearden in the Gallery's Collection Biography of Romare Bearden View Related Collection Tour Selected African American Artists Explore interactive activities on NGAkids Download the Children's Guide (PDF 900KB) Download Acrobat Reader to the exhibition Explore Related Teaching Resources Request Loan Programs Explore Related Teaching Resources (PDF 2.4MB) Download Acrobat Reader Press Materials Explore SFMOMA's multimedia program on Bearden

Romare Bearden is among the preeminent artists of his generation. His powerful works represent the places where he lived and worked: the rural South; northern cities, principally Pittsburgh and New York's Harlem; and the Caribbean island of St. Martin. Religious subjects and ritual practices, jazz clubs and brothels, and history and literature are overlapping themes in his work. Throughout his career Bearden also made forays into abstraction, usually with musical associations. This exhibition, the most comprehensive retrospective of his work ever, explores the complexity and scope of Bearden's art. It includes not only the collages and Projections (photostats) for which he is best known but also a selection of watercolors, gouaches, and oils, many of which have rarely been exhibited.

Sponsor: The exhibition is made possible with generous support from AT&T

The exhibition is sponsored in part by Chevy Chase Bank