Guides: Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation at Lauinger Library: Art

Georgetown University Art Collection

The Georgetown University Art Collection contains many individual works received by donation and by purchase that depict Black people at work and leisure, as activists in anti-racist and social justice movements, and as subjects of character studies. The Art Collection includes art by 30 Black artists, and new works are being actively acquired. In addition, there are several works where the depiction of Black people is obscured: they are not the primary subjects, often overshadowed by white people, who are foregrounded. The art curators have created a detailed guide with images and information about these items, which may be obtained upon request. Researchers should also consult the Art Collection Database, which consists of more than 21,000 catalogue records which can be searched by title, artist, medium, object type, period, region, or date. It is possible to search all of these fields using keywords.

The following art resources are a sample of works available in the Georgetown University Art Collection, part of the Booth Family Center for Special Collections.

19th Century Works

Phillis Wheatley (printed ca. 1834-1842) in the "Revue des Colonies" Bernard Lemercier & Cie. (Paris) Lithograph View in the Art Collection database: https://art.library.georgetown.edu/Obj30700
Farmers Nooning (1843) Alfred Jones (Unknown, 1819-1900) Engraving on paper Print View in Art Collection database: https://art.library.georgetown.edu/Obj29977
Hannah Amidst the Vines [alt: Octoroon] (1858) Eastman Johnson (American, 1824-1906) Oil on illustration board 355.6 x 266.7 mm Painting View in Art Collection database: https://art.library.georgetown.edu/Obj7442
The Emancipation of the Negroes, January, 1863 - The Past and the Future in Harper's Weekly (1863) Thomas Nast (American, Landau, Germany, 1840-1902, Guayaquil, Ecuador) Lithograph on paper 418 x 57 8mm Print View in Art Collection database: https://art.library.georgetown.edu/Obj29734
Picnic on the Fourth of July (1864) Lily Martin Spencer (after) hand-colored engraving View in the Art Collection database: link forthcoming
Georgetown Viewed from Roslin [sic] (1883) C.W. Fleischmann (German, 1870-1890) Oil on canvas 457.2 x 609.6 mm Painting View in Art Collection database: https://art.library.georgetown.edu/Obj7703

20th-21st Century Works

Negro Mother (1932) Prentiss H. Taylor (American, 1907-1991) Print View in Art Collection database: https://art.library.georgetown.edu/Obj18553
*Scottsboro Limited* (1932) Prentiss H. Taylor (American, 1907-1991) Lithograph on paper Artist's book View in the Art Collection database: https://art.library.georgetown.edu/Obj15224
Brotherhood for Peace (1967) Jacob Lawrence (American, 1917-2000) Lithograph on paper 557 x 399 mm Print View in Art Collection database: https://art.library.georgetown.edu/Obj10418
Jamming at the Savoy (1981) Romare Howard Bearden (American, 1911-1988) Etching on paper 422 x 603 mm Print View in Art Collection database: https://art.library.georgetown.edu/Obj9082
Man (2003) Elizabeth Catlett (American, 1915-2012) Woodcut with linocut on paper 457.2 x 304.8 mm Print View in Art Collection database: https://art.library.georgetown.edu/Obj16900
The Occupation of Alexandria from Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War (2005) Kara Walker (American, 1969- ) Commercial/offset printing with screen printing on paper 990.6 X 1346.2 mm Print View in Art Collection database: https://art.library.georgetown.edu/Obj19845 Learn more about this piece in Art Curator LuLen Walker's article "Curator's Choice: Kara Walker's The Occupation of Alexandria."