Limitless Talent

A major retrospective of work by Charles White will explore his mastery across many mediums

A major retrospective of work by Charles White will explore his mastery across many mediums

Marking a century since the birth of Charles White in 1918—and 36 years since the last major exhibition on the artist’s work—the Art Institute of Chicago is now presenting Charles White: A Retrospective, which will explore and examine the Chicago artist and how he pushed the boundaries of his media and figurative tradition in American art at a pivotal time in American history.

The retrospective continues through September 3 and then travels to the Museum of Modern Art in New

York from October 7 to January 13, 2019, before finally moving to the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art in spring 2019.The retrospective essentially travels along the same route as White’s own journey: he was born in Chicago, worked heavily in New York and then lived the last part of his life Los Angeles.

White, who died in 1979, prominently featured African-american subject matter that spoke to the cultural identity of black Americans.the artist, who was black himself, was also painting aspects of his own life and experiences as he came up in Chicago in the late 1930s as an artist for the Illinois affiliate of the Works Progress Administration. white would later

Charles White (1918-1979), Harvest Talk, 1953. Charcoal, Wolff’s carbon drawing pencil and graphite, with stumping and erasing on ivory wood pulp laminate board, 26 x 39 in. The Art Institute of Chicago. Restricted gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Hartman. © The Charles White Archives Inc.