UNO Art Gallery Welcomes African American Works

Omaha - Works by African-American Masters from the Sheldon Museum of Art at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will be featured at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Art Gallery Friday, Aug. 27 through Thursday, Sept. 23.

The public is invited to a free opening reception at the gallery on Friday, Aug. 27, from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

These poignant and intimate works by important 20th Century artists – Aaron Douglas, Charles White, Alvin Loving, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Charles Alston and Elizabeth Catlett – express the struggles, joys, triumphs and creativity of African Americans.

Power Plant, Harlem by Aaron Douglas in oil, 1939

In conjunction with the exhibition, Peggy Jones, UNO assistant professor of Black Studies, will present a slide lecture in the gallery – "Aaron Douglas, UNL Class of ’22: Visual Artist of the Harlem Renaissance" – on Thursday, Sept. 16, at 6 p.m. Douglas was the first African American to graduate with a bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Four of his woodcuts created to illustrate Eugene O’Neill’s racially charged play, Emperor Jones, are included in the exhibition.

The Nebraska Humanities Council (NHC) provided funding for Jones’ public lecture. The NHC receives support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Nebraska State Legislature, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment and private donations.

The UNO Art Gallery is located on the first floor of the Weber Fine Arts Building on the UNO campus, 6001 Dodge St. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday. In addition, appointments at other times are encouraged. All events are free and open to the public, and the gallery is accessible to people with disabilities. The gallery is closed on Labor Day.

Call (402) 554-2796 for more information or to arrange an appointment.

The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is Nebraska’s metropolitan university. The core values of the institution place students at the center of all that the university does; call for the campus to strive for academic excellence; and promote community engagement that transforms and improves urban, regional, national and global life. UNO, inaugurated in 1968, emerged from the Municipal University of Omaha, established in 1931, which grew out of the University of Omaha founded in 1908.

2010.08.10 > For Immediate Release contact: Wendy Townley - University Relations phone: 402.554.2762 - email: wtownley@unomaha.edu