Portrait of a Woman
Edwin A. Harleston applied his academic artistic training to his realistic portraiture of African Americans, receiving many commissions from the distinguished upper class while also painting the working class community around him. His portraits are noted for the use of rich tones and the elegant dignity with which he represented his sitters such as well-known community figures that ranged from a church reverend to a hospital nurse. In this portrait, Harleston captures the jovial expression of a seated woman in three-quarter profile. Thought to be painted around 1920, this work portrays the subject as a "new woman," which is underscored by her relaxed, casual style with the loose dress and her confident, independent attitude befitting the times.
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.