Aspirational Silhouettes Inspired by Aaron Douglas Sat, Oct 24, 2020, 11–11:40 am

Aspirational Silhouettes Inspired by Aaron Douglas

Sat, Oct 24, 2020
11–11:40 am

A painting depicting a crowd in chains and three individuals standing pointing at skyscrapers in the distance.
A painting depicting a crowd in chains and three individuals standing pointing at skyscrapers in the distance.

Aaron Douglas, Aspiration, 1936. Oil on canvas, 60 × 60 in. (152.4 × 152.4 cm). Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; museum purchase, the estate of Thurlow E. Tibbs Jr., the Museum Society Auxiliary, American Art Trust Fund, Unrestricted Art Trust Fund, partial gift of Dr. Ernest A. Bates, Sharon Bell, Jo-Ann Beverly, Barbara Carleton, Dr. and Mrs. Arthur H. Coleman, Dr. and Mrs. Coyness Ennix, Jr., Nicole Y. Ennix, Mr. and Mrs. Gary Francois, Dennis L. Franklin, Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell C. Gillette, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Goodyear, Zuretti L. Goosby, Marion E. Greene, Mrs. Vivian S. W. Hambrick, Laurie Gibbs Harris, Arlene Hollis, Louis A. and Letha Jeanpierre, Daniel and Jackie Johnson, Jr., Stephen L. Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Lathan, Lewis & Ribbs Mortuary Garden Chapel, Mr. and Mrs. Gary Love, Glenn R. Nance, Mr. and Mrs. Harry S. Parker III, Mr. and Mrs. Carr T. Preston, Fannie Preston, Pamela R. Ransom, Dr. and Mrs. Benjamin F. Reed, San Francisco Black Chamber of Commerce, San Francisco Chapter of Links, Inc., San Francisco Chapter of the N.A.A. C.P., Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Dr. Ella Mae Simmons, Mr. Calvin R. Swinson, Joseph B. Williams, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred S. Wilsey, and the people of the Bay Area. © 2020 Heirs of Aaron Douglas / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

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Online, via Zoom

Families with kids of all ages

You are invited to Open Studio From Home, free weekly online art classes with Whitney educators! Participants will experiment, create, and learn together with at-home art materials.  

Inspired by Mexican muralists, Aaron Douglas presented history in an epic form. He made these paintings to commemorate the history and achievements of African Americans. Aspiration depicts the hopes that they might have for their future. 

Join us to learn more about Douglas's art. Together, we will use our own silhouettes to create portraits conveying our hopes and dreams for the future.

Materials 

  • Flashlight or lamp
  • Paper
  • Masking tape
  • Pencil
  • Washable paints and brushes or markers

On the Hour

A 30-second online art project:
Maya Man, A Realistic Day In My Life Living In New York City

Learn more about this project

Learn more at whitney.org/artport

On the Hour projects can contain motion and sound. To respect your accessibility settings autoplay is disabled.