Resources
Romare Bearden Parts of a Story
Helpful Links:
Educators
Tennessee Social Studies Standards
Tennessee English Language Arts Standards
About
Biography:
Romare Bearden was born in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 2, 1911. Like many southern African American families during the Great Migration, Bearden and his family would move to New York City and eventually settle down in Harlem. Later, Bearden and his grandparents would move to Pittsburgh where he attended high school. He then went to New York University to study education. While in college he also drew cartoons for the campus newspaper which gave him experience to become a cartoonist for other publications including The Crisis, Collier’s Magazine, and the Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper. In 1940, Bearden held his first solo exhibit which included gouache and watercolor paintings. In 1942, Bearden was drafted into the U.S. army, serving as a private in the 372nd Infantry Regiment for three years. With help from the G.I. Bill, Bearden went to Paris to study Philosophy at the Sorbonne. When the funds ran out, Bearden returned to Harlem and became a social worker until he was able to become a full-time collage artist in 1966.
Book
My Hands Sing the Blues
Located in Gallery 1
I wonder... Does this look familiar to you?
Many of George Washington’s portraits and profiles look the same. Take a look at a selection of George Washington’s portraits at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Washington Everywhere | National Portrait Gallery
Why do you think so may artists would use the same image over and over again? How did this contribute to new Americans learning about the founding of the United States?
Think of other portraits you have seen and look at other images below—what does each one tell us about the person featured? What has the artist shared with us about the subject of the painting?
SSP.01 Gather information from a variety of sources
SSP.05 Develop historical awareness by: Sequencing past, present, and future in chronological order and Understanding that things change over time
SS.4.08 Determine the importance of different groups to the American Revolution
Located in Gallery 1
Located in Gallery 1
Vocabulary
- Main Character
- Setting
- Plot
- Illustration
Discussion Questions
- Who is Romare Bearden?
- Who does he visit in the book?
- Where does the story take place?
- What does Romare Bearden do with his grandmother? What does he do with his grandfather?
Activity Suggestions
Activity #1
Make a collage about your favorite memory
Materials
- Mixed Media or Copy Paper
- Scissors
- Magazines
- Construction Paper
- Notebook Paper
- Pencil
Instructions
- Introduce them to Bearden’s Early Morning. Explain that this a collage Bearden made and he often made artwork inspired by his family and neighbors.
- Read My Hands Sing the Blues as a class. Have students discuss the events of the book using questions above.
- Ask students to share their personal memories of visiting a relative or friends. Have they ever visited grandparents or traveled to another state like Bearden?
- If developmentally appropriate, have students write about this memory. They should describe what they did, who they visited, and where they were.
- Using magazines and scissors, students will make their own collages of this memory. If students are struggling with using scissors they can tear their images from the magazines.
Located in Gallery 1
Located in Gallery 1
Not on view
Something to consider: STEM Connection
Artists were key players in documenting conflicts both to share with the public and to create a record of events. Do some research about the methods used in the artworks from the Hunter Museum. How would an etching or lithograph reach a different group of people than a painting? How would these inventions (and others like photography and film) affect the ways in which Americans learned about and responded to conflict?
SSP.01 Gather information from a variety of sources, including media and technology sources
Located in Gallery 4
Located in Gallery 4
Located in Gallery 14
Art can be an expression of identity and culture. Some communities have had these important personal representations threatened because they were different or were in opposition to new ideas being brought by expanding frontiers.
Look at the following 3 artworks that respond to the impact on the people and the land during the Westward Expansion of the United States.
Consider: what emotions do you see represented? Can you find examples of how it felt to lose something very important? Can you also find examples of resilience? What symbols, colors, and details did the artist use to share these emotions?
SS.3.22 Examine how American Indian cultures changed as a result of contact with European cultures, including: decreased population, spread of disease (smallpox), increased conflict, loss of territory, and increase in trade.
Located in Gallery 5
Located in Gallery 5
Located in Gallery 5
Cities also expanded rapidly during the mid 19th century. People came to the United States from all over the world! In cities like New York, many diverse groups of people lived very close together. Trains, trolleys, and streets showcased the many ways lives overlapped.
Look at the images below: Find people who are working, resting, excited, nervous, and confident. What are they doing? Where do you think they are going?
SSP.03 Organize data from a variety of sources in order to: Compare and contrast multiple sources, Recognize differences between multiple accounts, and Frame appropriate questions for further investigation
R.1. Cornerstone Read closely to determine what a text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
Located in Gallery 3
Located in Gallery 12
Located in Gallery 14
Listen to the song Poor Old Joe by Paul Robeson, a renowned singer during the early 1900s and the Harlem Renaissance. During the Great Migration, many African Americans travelled to cities in the North in search of new opportunities and equality while others remained and worked in agriculture in the South. How do the lyrics connect to the artwork?*
*This is an artwork about migration by someone who was an immigrant (rather than a migrant) but has overlapping themes for both experiences as discussed above
Left: Hung Liu (1948-2021), I Hear Their Gentle Voice Calling, 2017, mixed media, multi-layer resin, 82 x 82 in. Toledo Museum of Art. Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey.
Located in Gallery 12
Located in Gallery 15
Activity: What Were They Thinking?
Immerse yourself in the world of Reginald Marsh's Subway - 14th Street and consider the variety of intersecting lives featured in the painting. Using the attached guide, write what do you think these New York City subway-goers were thinking at that moment in time.
Download activity
Immigrants have been crucial in shaping American history and culture. Many of America’s most celebrated artists were immigrants or the children of immigrants who chose to build their lives in the U.S.
Located in Gallery 18
Located in Gallery 18
Look at the artworks above and at left: Think about how these two artists combine images from American culture with historical Japanese and Korean art to create something new.
Located in Gallery 1
Activity: Celebration Flag
Mimi Herbert left half of the work Celebration Flag blank, suggesting an opportunity for viewers to add their own ideas to complete the flag. Flags are used to identify a place using colors and symbols—The United States flag uses 50 stars for the 50 states, 13 stripes for the 13 original colonies, blue for justice, red for valor and bravery, and white for purity and innocence. Use the blank space provided in the activity below to share how you would complete Mimi’s flag.
Located in Gallery 13
Contemporary art continues to address themes of identity, conflict, movement and our changing world. Contemporary can be defined as “right now.” All artwork is contemporary at the time it is made and reflects the social, political and personal impacts of the artist’s environment. Look at the works below. How do these artworks reflect on history as well as the “right now”?
Not on view
Not on view
Not on view
