'Aaron Douglas. Bio Essay\r'

'Aaron Douglas ?â€Å"Aaron Douglas was an African American painter and graphic deviceist who vie a leading role in the Harlem spiritual rebirth of the 1920s and 1930s. His freshman major commission, to illustrate Alain Leroy Locke’s book, The New Negro, prompted requests for graphic from former(a) Harlem Renaissance writers. By 1939, Douglas started teaching at Fisk University, where he remained for the next 27 years (Biography 1). ” He made numerous contributions at Fisk University. ?On May 26, 1899, Aaron Douglas was born in Topeka, Kansas. During his season in the Harlem Renaissance, Douglas helped to guide the artistic and literary movement. He is nearlytime referred to as the ‘Father of unforgiving American Art. Douglas developed an interest in art early on on, finding both(prenominal) of his inspiration from his mother’s love for painting watercolors (Biography 1). ” Proceeding graduation in 1917 from Topeka, Kansas, Douglas enrolled i n the University of Nebraska, which is likewise known as Lincoln. â€Å" on that point he pursued his passion for creating art, earning his Bachelor of hunky-dory Arts Degree in 1922 (Biography 1). ” At the selfsame(prenominal) time, he connected with students of Lincoln High discipline in Kansas City, Missouri to share his interest of art with them.After two years of bonding with his pupils, Douglas decided to move to New York City. New York’s Harlem neighborhood had a thriving art scene; therefore it would not take any time for Douglas to get phthisis to New York.? Reaching New York in 1925, Douglas fleetly became familiar with the Harlem’s ethnical life. He began his course in New York as an apprentice for Win sure-enough(a) Reiss, a German artist whom he met through Charles S. Johnson. creation an apprentice for Reiss only lasted two years in the lead he continued on to became the editor of chance, the bailiwick Urban League’s magazine. Th rough his coers for Opportunity and The Crisis, Douglas set forth a new hatful for the black artists. His strong, geometric forms and Egyptian profiles resulted in a style juveniler described by cultural critic and educator Richard Powell as ‘Afro-Cubism (Aiga 1). ” In 1926, Douglas eventually stepped up to the plate and married Alta Sawyer. Mrs. Alta was a teacher as well. Their home became a social Mecca for the likes of Langton Hughes and W. E. B. Du Bois. â€Å" some the same time, Douglas loaned his talents to the first and only issue of Wallace Thurman’s magazine FIRE!! nd later knowing the cover of Thurman’s short-lived magazine Harlem (Aiga 1). ” With Douglas personality for creating compelling graphics, he became an in-demand illustrator for many writers (Biography 1). ” A few of Douglas popular illustrations consist of James Weldon Johnson’s poetic work, God’s Tromb whizz (1927), and Paul Morand’s Black Magic (1929). â€Å"In addition to Douglas illustration work, he explored educational opportunities; after receiving a caller from the Barnes floor in Pennsylvania, he took time to study African and modern art (Biography 1). This experience led him to creating some of his best-known paintings in the 1930s. Meanwhile, Douglas was hired to produce a mural for the library at Fisk University. Continuing to poke out his horizon, Douglas spent time in Paris, where he canvass with Charles Despiau and Othon Friesz. â€Å"Back in New York, in 1933, Douglas had his first solo art show. Soon after, he started one of his most nog rarityary works †a serial of murals entitled â€Å"Aspects of Negro Life” that featured quadruple panels, each depicting a different social occasion of the African-American experience.Each mural included a enamour mix of Douglas’s influences, from jazz music to pilfer and geometric art (Biography 2). ” ? Returning to Fisk University in t he late 1930s, Douglas served as an assistant professor, and shortly after he founded the school’s art department. Because Douglas was valued his educational responsibilities, he attend Columbia University’s Teachers College in 1941, and completed three years earning a tame’s degree in art education. â€Å"He also established the Carl Van Vechten Gallery at Fisk and helped secure vital works for it collection, including pieces by Winold Reiss and Alfred Steiglitz (Biography 2). outdoor(a) of his works in his classroom, Douglas remained committed to learning and developing as an artist. â€Å"He genuine a fellowship from the Julius Rosenwald Foundation in 1938, which funded his painting trip Haiti and several(prenominal) other Caribbean islands. He later won other grants to support his artistic endeavors (Biography 2). ” Douglas had several solo exhibits over the years from his continuation to produce new works. ?Douglas received countless honors duri ng his later years. â€Å"In 1963, he was invited by President John F.Kennedy to attend a solemnization of the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, held at the White House. Douglas also earned and honorary doctorate from Fisk University in 1973, sevensome years after his retirement from the school (Biography 2). ” He still remained an active painter and lecturer until the end of his life. On September 2, 1979, Douglas passed away at the term of 79, in a Nashville hospital. According to some reporters, he died of a pulmonary intercalation. â€Å"Pulmonary embolism is a sudden blockage in a lung artery. The blockage usually is caused by a agate line clot that travels to the lung from a vein in the leg (NIH 1). ? After Douglas death, a special memorial assistance was held for him at Fisk University, where he taught for nearly 30 years. â€Å"At the service, Walter J. Leonard, the university’s president at the time, remembered Douglas with the following avo wal: ‘Aaron Douglas was one of the most accomplished of the interpreters of our institutions and cultural values. He captured the strength and quickness of the young; he translated the memories of the old; and projected the determination of the inspired and courageous (Biography 2). ”\r\n'