May 26, 2022–July 30, 2023

Touching Roots

Black Ancestral Legacies in the Americas

Africa is at once a point of origin and a myriad of associations—real and imagined—for many Black artists working in the Americas. In the 20th century, some artists self-consciously responded to writer and philosopher Alain LeRoy Locke’s call to engage with “those ancestral arts.” Others continued to practice African artistic traditions passed down through generations.

This exhibition traces narratives of Blackness across the Atlantic world by bringing together work from artists who absorbed and reinterpreted African artistic practices, sacred customs, and cultural expressions. The artworks honor ancestral spirits and Black legacies through painting, sculpture, textiles, and dance. Artists from throughout the Americas are represented—with a special focus on those from or working in New England, like Allan Rohan Crite, Napoleon Jones-Henderson, Ifé Franklin, Bryan McFarlane, Karen Hampton, and Stephen Hamilton. Highlights from the collection include Ubi Girl from Tai Region (1972) by Loïs Mailou Jones, African Woman (about 1933) by James Richmond Barthé, Untitled (1943) by Wifredo Lam, and George Jackson (1971) by Kofi Bailey.

Visitors can explore how shared cultural heritages created connections that formed the basis of communities, highlighting the importance of Africa’s presence in the Americas. By turning their gaze inward and toward Africa, Black artists grounded their artistic expressions and infused strength and insight into their work.

This exhibition accompanies “Stories Artists Tell: Art of the Americas, the 20th Century,” a suite of galleries spanning place and time, and exploring different themes surrounding 20th-century art from the Americas.

Outside scholars and collaborators have been essential in the conceptualization and planning of this exhibition. Many thanks to Chenoa Baker, Kyrah Malika Daniels, Napoleon Jones-Henderson, and Stephen Hamilton.

Saundra B. and William H. Lane Galleries (Gallery 332)

A mixed media, hanging artwork of two wooden panels adorned with metallic shapes flanking dyed cloth. The main image of the cloth is a man, Sundiata Keita, surrounded by plants, an ox, and a lion.

A large, bronze sculpture of the head of an African American man.

A hanging, mixed textile media, rectangular banner with tassels that depicts different shapes and figures.

A painting of intertwining, cubist, imaginative sea creatures, flora, and a horeshoe.

Painting of figure wearing mask, with African tribal sculpture behind it, and various patterns in the background

A slim rectangular painting of abstract white shapes imposed on and flourished with black, green, blue, and brown strokes.

A brown, metallic-looking sculpture of a woman's head, headpiece, and neck on a wood base

A print of adjacent images of the front and back of a standing man covered in leaf-like body paint and headwear

A wood sculpture of a man sitting cross-legged on a stump, wearing a hat and smoking a pipe.

A copper and enamel mask mimicking a human face wears a white and dark brown headpiece.

A light tan, cylindrical stone vessel with a tapered opening and varied carvings.

Gouache on artist's board depicting silhouettes of the Sphinx, pyramids, a church, jungle foliage, a trumpeter, chained figures, and one figure in broken chains.

A squat basket with a handle, woven from different types of plants.

Stephen Hamilton, Dashawn Borden as Sundiata Keita, 2018

Mixed media, acrylic, natural dyes, and pigments, and hand-woven, hand-dyed cloth. Courtesy of the artist. © Stephen Hamilton.

John Wilson, maquette for Eternal Presence, modeled 1985, cast 1998

Bronze. William Francis Warden Fund. © Estate of John Wilson.

Napoleon Jones-Henderson, Tricky Slicky, 1991

Mixed textile media. Collection of Napoleon Jones-Henderson. © Napoleon Jones-Henderson.

Wifredo Lam, Untitled, 1943

Oil on burlap. A. Shuman Collection—Abraham Shuman Fund. © Wifredo Lam / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Loïs Mailou Jones, Ubi Girl from Tai Region, 1972

Acrylic on canvas. The Hayden Collection—Charles Henry Hayden Fund. © Loïs Mailou Jones Pierre-Noel Trust.

Hale Aspacio Woodruff, Ashanti Image, about 1946

Oil on panel. The John Axelrod Collection—Frank B. Bemis Fund, Charles H. Bayley Fund, and The Heritage Fund for a Diverse Collection. © Hale Aspacio Woodruff / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

James Richmond Barthé, African Woman, about 1933

Patinated plaster, wood base. The John Axelrod Collection—Frank B. Bemis Fund, Charles H. Bayley Fund, and The Heritage Fund for a Diverse Collection. © Barthé Trust.

Willie Cole, Silex Male, Ritual, 2004

Digital inkjet print on heavy white wove paper. Museum purchase with funds donated by Johanna and Leslie Garfield. © Willie Cole.

Agnaldo Manoel Dos Santos, Homem com Cachmbo e Chapéu (Man with a Pipe and Hat), 1950s

Wood. The John Axelrod Collection—Frank B. Bemis Fund and Charles H. Bayley Fund.

Sargent Claude Johnson, Mask, about 1934

Copper and enamel. The John Axelrod Collection—Frank B. Bemis Fund, Charles H. Bayley Fund, The Heritage Fund for a Diverse Collection.

Willis “Bing” Davis, Ancestral Spirit Vessel, 1987

Stoneware. The John Axelrod Collection—Frank B. Bemis Fund, Charles H. Bayley Fund, and The Heritage Fund for a Diverse Collection. Reproduced with permission.

Aaron Douglas, Untitled, 1930

Gouache on artist’s board. The John Axelrod Collection—Frank B. Bemis Fund, Charles H. Bayley Fund, and The Heritage Fund for a Diverse Collection. © Aaron Douglas / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Mary A. Jackson, basket with lid, 1992

Sweet grass, pine needles, bull rush, and palmetto fiber. Gift of Charles Devens, Mrs. Frances W. Lawrence, and The Seminarians. Reproduced with permission.

Art for This Moment: HiiiPoWeR

For Art for This Moment, MFA Boston’s blog, “Touching Roots” advisor Chenoa Baker considers the importance of color in the exhibition and traces the powerful thread of Pan-Africanism across artworks from three different eras.

Read the Essay