The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection celebrates the achievements and contributions of Black Americans from 1595 to present times. Considered one of the most comprehensive surveys of African American history and culture outside the Smithsonian Institution, the exhibition of the same name features the shared treasures amassed by Shirley and Bernard Kinsey during their five decades of marriage. The collection includes painting, sculpture, photography, rare books, letters and manuscripts that offer a well-rounded look at the African American experience and provide new perspectives on the nation’s history and culture.
Ignatius Sancho
African/British (circa 1729–1780), Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, an African, 1782, First edition book
Phillis Wheatley
African/American (circa 1753–1784), Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, 1773, First Edition Book
Exhibition of the Work of Negro Artists, 1931
Harmon Foundation, Printed paper
CORE (Congress of Racial Equality)
Woolworth Boycott Broadside, circa 1960, Lithograph
Abby Fisher
American (1831-1915), What Mrs. Fisher Knows about Old Southern Cooking, 1881, First Edition Book
William Johnson
American, Handwritten Slave Document, 1832, Ink on paper
Brown Et Al vs. Board of Education of Topeka
Brown Et Al vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Et Al, 1954, Typescript
Richmond Barthe
American (1909-1989), Head of a Dancer (Harald Kreutzberg), Bronze
Bisa Butler
American (born 1975),The Boss, 2006, Quilted cotton, appliqué
Grafton Tyler Brown
American (1841–1918), Mt. Tacoma from Lake Washington, circa 1885, Oil on canvas en grisaille
Hughie Lee-Smith
American (1915–1999),The Walls, 1951, Oil on canvas
Images courtesy of The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection