AFA Autumn 2019

Antiques & Fine Art 95 2019 An academy, by its nature, is an exclusionary organization, and throughout its history, on occasion, the National Academy has been resistant to change in one form or another. That said, as it is a collection built by artists, and not by acquisition committees or museum officials, there are remarkable portents within the Academy’s holdings, years ahead of their time. For example, rather than a likeness of himself, Charles White submitted Matriarch —a portrayal of his great-aunt Hasty Baines, born into slavery in 1857 on the Yellowley plantation in Ridgeland, Mississippi—to the Academy as his diploma portrait. Painted 110 years after her birth, in the thick of a decade rife with political and social unrest, the deeply personal work stood for White as a symbol of wisdom and courage—universal themes also explored in his mature work Mother Courage II. After extensive conservation, Matriarch will be on view for the first time in nearly four decades, and today, as ever, the colloquy between the two paintings is edifying. left: Charles White (1918–1979), Mother Courage II, 1974. Oil on canvas, 49¾ x 39⅞ inches. National Academy of Design, New York; NA diploma presentation, March 3, 1975 (1779-P). Photo Credit: Neighboring States © The Charles White Archives. Courtesy American Federation of Arts. right: Charles White (1918–1979), Matriarch, 1967. Oil on canvas, 20 x 17 inches. National Academy of Design, New York; ANA diploma presentation, February 5, 1973 (1765-P). Photo Credit: Image by Google © The Charles White Archives. Courtesy American Federation of Arts.