printed in black and white; black ground with stencil-like letters--"BLACK / IS / BEAUTIFUL"--with photographs of black women, most wearing bold African print garments; received in white frame

%C2%A9 Kwame Brathwaite

Untitled (Black is Beautiful poster from 1970), c. 1970, printed 2018

Archival pigment printexpand_more

The Shared Fundexpand_more  2019.67

Not on Viewexpand_more

For almost 60 years, Kwame Brathwaite has created positive images of African Americans and promoted the beauty of everyday people. Working as an artist and theorist, Brathwaite made photographs of African Americans that defied negative stereotypes and depicted a new vision of Black people. Together with his brother Elombe, Brathwaite cofounded Grandassa Models in the early 1960s, a Harlem-based modeling group that celebrated the beauty of Black women’s bodies and natural hair through fashion shows and photography. The Grandassa Models were the first to openly promote the powerful slogan “Black Is Beautiful,” defying the white, European-dominated fashion trends of the day and defining beauty on their own terms.

Details
Title
Untitled (Black is Beautiful poster from 1970)
Artist Life
1938 - 2023
Role
Designer
Accession Number
2019.67
Curator Approved

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printed in black and white; black ground with stencil-like letters--"BLACK / IS / BEAUTIFUL"--with photographs of black women, most wearing bold African print garments; received in white frame

© Kwame Brathwaite

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