Romare Bearden

Romare Howard Bearden (fine artist) was born on September 2, 1911 and died in New York City on March 12, 1988, at the age of 76. Romare Bearden is considered as one of the most creative and original visual artist of the twentieth century. He experimented with many different mediums and artistic styles, but is best known for his richly textured collages. His life and art are marked by exceptional talent, encompassing a broad range of and scholarly interests, including music, performing arts, history, literature and world art. Bearden was also a celebrated humanist, as demonstrated by his lifelong support of young, emerging artists. Bearden was a prolific artist whose works were exhibited during his lifetime throughout the United States and Europe. His collages, watercolors, oils, photomontages and prints are imbued with visual metaphors from his past in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Harlem and from a variety of historical, literary and musical sources. Among his many friends, Bearden had close associations with such distinguished artists, intellectuals and musicians as James Baldwin, Stuart Davis, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Ralph Ellison, Joan Miró, George Grosz, Alvin Ailey and Jacob Lawrence.