Funeral Procession
A self-taught painter from Louisiana, Clementine Hunter is known for her colorful and straightforward scenes culled from her memories of life on a Southern plantation. Having worked primarily in the cotton fields and then as a domestic servant, her compositions include scenes of outdoor activity and still lifes of everyday objects.
Hunter's "Funeral Procession" is one among many representations of religious rituals that the artist recalls in her imagery. This busy scene is painted with a bright palette that highlights details such as hats, flowers and clothing, marking the reverent mood of the occasion. Like many of Hunter's paintings, the scene tells a simple story — a procession leads from a church down a hill to a gravesite, in the stacked perspective and with the stylized forms indicative of the artist's oeuvre.
The Walter O. Evans Collection of African American Art
One of the most important collections of African American visual art dating from the 18th century to the present, the collection includes 62 works from Edward Bannister, Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Robert S. Duncanson, Richard Hunt, Jacob Lawrence and others. This collection forms the foundation of a multidisciplinary center for the study, understanding and appreciation of African American art and culture. Items from the collection have previously rotated in the Evans Center Gallery and through unique exhibitions such as the 2012 "Life's Link: A Fred Wilson Installation," and the 2017 travelling exhibition of Jacob Lawrence's work.