The Walter O. Evans Collection of African American Art opens at the Tyler Museum of Art on Thursday, February 6 and continues through Sunday, April 27, 2003.

Dr. Walter O. Evans is one of the country's foremost collectors of African American art. A retired physician, Dr. Evans has devoted almost a quarter century to collecting art, rare books, and historical documents relevant to the African American experience. Born in Savannah, Georgia in 1943, he developed an interest in art during his years of medical training when he noted a distinct absence of African American art in the world's major museums. His collection is an expression of his commitment to the importance of cultural heritage and family tradition. In 1979, he made his first major purchase—a portfolio of serigraphs by Jacob Lawrence entitled "The John Brown Series." This purchase was the beginning of a collection which has expanded to more than 500 paintings, sculptures, and photographs spanning some 150 years. This exhibition of 77 works by 37 artists offers a comprehensive look at the work of some of this country's finest 19th and 20th century masters, including Henry Ossawa Tanner, Aaron Douglas, Jacob Lawrence, and Romare Bearden.

Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937) was the first internationally famous African American artist. Raised in Philadelphia, Tanner studied under Thomas Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts between 1879 and 1885. In search of further training and a more hospitable environment for his naturalistic landscape painting, he moved to Paris in 1891. There he assimilated something of the Impressionists' interest in light effects as well as their looser brushwork. Tanner received enthusiastic recognition both at home and abroad for his biblical characters and themes infused with spirituality and mysticism. The first African American elected to full membership in the National Academy of Design (New York) in 1927, Tanner offered in his early work a sobering counterbalance to negative images of black Americans. Included in this exhibition is Florida (oil on canvas, 1890). With its Impressionist tonalities, broadly brushed strokes, and the orange grove seen in sunlight diffused through clouds, Florida clearly reveals the influence of Tanner's time in Paris.

In the United States, the period following World War I saw a flowering of art dedicated to building a better society. One of the most vibrant movements of the time arose in the Harlem section of New York City. During the decade of the 1920's Harlem served as a magnet for some of the greatest talents of that generation-artists, musicians, composers, actors, writers, dancers, and poets. Louis Armstrong came to Harlem, as did Duke Ellington, the writer Langston Hughes, and the poet Countee Cullen. The period from the end of World War I to the middle of the 1930's came to be known as the Harlem Renaissance. There is no single style associated with artists of the Harlem Renaissance, but the work of painter and illustrator Aaron Douglas (1899-1979) is representative of the spirit and aspirations of the group. A native of Kansas, Douglas moved to Harlem in 1924. During the Harlem Renaissance years, he gradually developed a style he called "geometric symbolism." Douglas illustrated James Weldon Johnson's God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse (1927), a book of poems based on Johnson's interpretations of popular folk sermons. Included in this exhibition is The Creation (gouache on paper, 1927) in which Douglas fuses God's labors into a single scene in which His omnipotent hand reaches down from the swirling heavens to a lone figure standing near the hills and valleys of the newly formed world. More recently, Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) also addressed this biblical theme by creating a series of eight gouache paintings entitled The Genesis Creation Sermon (1989). Although more than 60 years separate Douglas's and Lawrence's works, both series were based on the artists' personal experiences in the black church as well as their interest in folk culture. Moreover, their academic training and exposure to Synthetic Cubism, Art Deco, and African and folk art allowed each to develop a style well suited to illustration. Characterized by flat, dynamic, and reductivist forms, their unique styles are ideal for narration because they communicate clearly and directly. Both artists utilized a serial format to tell the stories of African American history, heroes, and daily life. Five of the eight paintings in The Genesis Creation Sermon by Jacob Lawrence will be on display in this exhibition.

Romare Bearden (1911-1988) was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and moved to Harlem when he was a young child. After earning a degree in mathematics from New York University, he enrolled in the Art Students League and studied with German artist George Grosz. Throughout his career Bearden explored mythological and religious themes. He is known for his revolutionary use of collage and photomontage. A founding member of Spiral, a group promoting civil rights in the visual arts, Bearden sought to relate the work of African American artists to the struggle for racial equality and the complexity and beauty of black American life. Bearden was friends with Duke Ellington and other musicians involved in the Harlem Renaissance. He loved music and frequently included images in his work that related to music and sound. Included is this exhibition are The Blues Has Got Me (1944), Jazz Rhapsody (1982), and The Piano Lesson (1983).

Dr. Walter O. Evans and his wife Linda will be in Tyler for the exhibition opening. Dr. Evans will deliver a lecture at 10:00 on Thursday, February 6 in Wise Auditorium on the Tyler Junior College campus. Admission is free, but reservations are required. After the lecture, Dr. Evans will be available in the Museum galleries to meet visitors and conduct a walking tour of the exhibition. Call (903) 595-1001 for reservations. The Tyler Museum of Art will host a reception that afternoon from 4:00–7:00 featuring music, refreshments, and a performance by the Texas College Choir. The reception is free and open to the public.

Several events are planned in conjunction with the exhibition. There will be a TMA Family Day on Sunday, February 23 at 2:00. Visitors will learn about and celebrate African American art through a variety of activities appealing to all ages. Art projects, music, refreshments, artist demonstrations, and interactive tours will be provided. All events are free and open to the public. TMA Family Day is being sponsored by King Chevrolet.

There will also be a Sunday Performance Series at the Museum featuring programs related to the exhibition. Dates for the series are February 9, February 16, March 2, and April 6. All programs begin at 2:00. On February 9, Phillip Collins, Chief Curator at the African American Museum in Dallas, will discuss the works of Aaron Douglas and their relationship to two of the poets of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes and James Weldon Johnson. Dr. Otis Webster, Professor of Psychology at Tyler Junior College, will read selections of their works. On February 16, Dr. Godwin Umoette, Associate Professor of History and Political Science at Texas College, Tyler will speak on African American art and culture. On March 2, Charles Criner, resident artist/lithographer at the Museum of Printing History in Houston, will discuss selected works in the exhibition and introduce visitors to the art of lithography. On April 6, noted lecturer Michael Lasser will speak on the songwriters of the Harlem Renaissance. Mr. Lasser's talk will touch on the lives and music of Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, Andy Razaf, and a very young Duke Ellington.

Lead sponsors for the exhibition are Vernon and Amy Faulconer. Additional sponsorship has been provided by Steve and June Hillis, Southside Bank, CompUSA/Tyler, King Chevrolet, ETMC Regional Healthcare System, KLTV, East Texas Chapter of the Links, Inc., KTPB Public Radio, Texas Commission on the Arts, Drs. Samuel and Edna Houston, and Dorothy and Stephen Hubbard.