wall in Room 22, for example, are positioned in direct relation to Modigliani’s paintings, such as his Woman in White (1919), which exhibits the “distorted, elongated, oval face” that Barnes considered characteristic of African sculpture.35 Albert Barnes, African Art, and the “New Negro” In 1925, philosopher and educator Alain Locke (1886–1954) (fi g. 22) issued a call to fellow African 100 Americans to seek inspiration from their African heritage in the visual arts. “There is the possibility,” Locke wrote, “that the sensitive artistic mind of the American Negro, stimulated by a cultural pride and interest, will receive from African art a profound and galvanizing infl uence.”36 Locke’s manifesto—published as “The Legacy of the Ancestral Arts” in the anthology The New Negro—became an ideological rallying cry for the New Negro movement, encouraging African Americans to view African art as a cultural and visual resource. The African art in the Barnes Foundation offered exactly such a resource, arguably one with exceptionally widespread infl uence during the heyday of this movement. Between 1924 and 1928, select works of African sculpture from the foundation’s collection served as illustrations in several key publications of the Harlem Renaissance. These included issues of Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life, the monthly journal of the National Urban League, edited by Charles S. Johnson; a special edition of Survey Graphic devoted to the Harlem Renaissance; and, most prominently, The New Negro, the anthology by Locke regarded as the movement’s foundational text. Moreover, all three publications featured articles on the Barnes Foundation and its collection and included writings by Barnes himself on the topic of African art and its relation to African American culture. Barnes was especially active in support of the “Negro cause” during these years through his relationships with leaders of and participants in the Harlem Renaissance. In addition to Locke, Barnes was also involved, in a more sustained way, with sociologist Charles Spurgeon Johnson (1883– 1956), who later became Fisk University president. Barnes also encouraged and supported black artists and writers, recommended by Johnson, by offering scholarships for study at the Barnes Foundation. Barnes’ commitment to social justice and racial equality—and his belief that a broader appreciation and understanding of African sculpture would further those goals—neatly coincided with the fl ourishing of black cultural production that had begun in New York in the early 1920s. His direct involvement in the New Negro movement started with an introduction to Locke at Paul Guillaume’s gallery in Paris, in December 1923.36 Locke, a professor of philosophy at Howard University, is known as the father of the Harlem Renaissance, particularly for his role in nurturing African American creativity. Barnes and Locke would seem to have had much in common: not only in their shared interest in African art, but also a shared alma mater—Philadelphia’s Central High School—and a mutual appreciation of the pragmatist writings of the psychologist and philosopher William James, naturalist philosopher George Santayana, and the educational reformer John Dewey. A Legacy in Contemporary Perspective Barnes’ sustained efforts throughout most of the 1920s promoted the appreciation of African—and African American—artistic expression with the ultimate goal of racial equality. Though he remained committed to the cause, his focus became less intense as the decade closed. He continued to advance his ideas on the artistic and social value of African art, lecturing on the topic and its relation to “the American Negro” through at least FIG. 22 (above): Alain Locke (1886–1954). National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution/Art Resource, NY. FIG. 23 (right): Bust cut from a fi gure. Baule, Côte d’Ivoire. Early 20th century. Wood, pigment. H: 34 cm. The Barnes Foundation, A135. Photo: Rick Echelmeyer, © 2015 The Barnes Foundation. FIG. 24 (facing page right): Sculptural element from a reliquary ensemble. Kota, Ndassa, or Wumbu, Sibiti region, Gabon or Republic of the Congo. Wood, copper, brass, iron, zinc. H: 49.8 cm. The Barnes Foundation, A282. Photo: Rick Echelmeyer, © 2015 The Barnes Foundation. FIG. 25 (facing page background): Billie Tsien, study for fl oor mosaic base on kente cloth, April 2010. Photo: Tod Williams, Billie Tsien Architects. FEATURE
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