The Art of Romare Bearden

A National Gallery Of Art Presentation

Romare Bearden's art captures the diversity and richness of life.With roots in North Carolina, Bearden migrated North at an early age, living in industrial Pittsburgh, vibrant Harlem, and later in his life, on the Caribbean Island of St. Martin. These four locales and his memories of their people, music, colors, and stories form the basis of Bearden's collages and paintings, whose style exhibits a unique blend of cultural influences from Harlem, Europe, and Africa.

This film traces Bearden's entire career, including his paintings and watercolors of the 1940's, experimental collages of 1064, mature collages of the next two decades, large-scale public murals, and late landscapes. The documentary also features commentary by art historians, artists, and others who knew Bearden, including Wynton Marsalis, Albert Murray, and Emma Amos.

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