Some of the outstanding artists whose work appears in this book of postcards--Jacob Lawrence, Hale Woodruff, Beauford Delaney, and Betye Saar, for example--have taken their inspiration from the world around them and captured the black experience. Others, such as Sam Gilliam, Romare Bearden, Alma Thomas, and Bob Thompson, have introduced a new language of modernism, turning to archetype, myth, and fable or seeking a pure abstraction in their work. All have caused the artistic mainstream to flow in unexpected and welcome directions.

This collection of thirty images from twenty-two African American artists offers a taste of the new vocabulary they forged in the twentieth century. From Henry Ossawa Tanner’s Good Shepherd (1920) to Purvis Young’s Every Day in Overtown (1992), these works have broken new ground and brought new depth to the art of America. From The Newark Museum. Contains thirty postcards.