African American art collection to debut at de Young

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco recently acquired 62 works by African American artists from the deep South, which will be added to the museums’ permanent collection of American art this spring, officials announced.

A visual record of the challenges and resilience of the African American community in the southern United States, this is the first collection of its kind acquired by the city’s largest public arts institution, and is one of the largest collections of African American artwork in the country.

The pieces created by Thornton Dial, Lonnie Holley, Purvis Young and other 20th century African American artists will be placed in juxtaposition with images from the Civil Rights era and displayed in Revelations:

Throughout this period, African American artists throughout the South developed covert, symbolic visual styles to avoid the persistent threat of censure and violence for black artistic expression.

“While all these compelling objects embody universal human values, they are also powerful testaments to African American cultural resilience and survival,” said Timothy Burgard, the museums’ curator in charge of American Art, in a statement.