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twentieth century. The roots of these works can be traced to slave cemeteries and secluded woods. Following the Civil War, when the southern agrarian economy collapsed and rural
African American sharecroppers and tenant farmers were forced to migrate for survival to major population centers—particularly in and around Birmingham, Alabama, where iron and steel production created jobs—a new and more public language of quilts, funerary, and yard arts arose. Beyond painting, sculpture, assemblage, drawing, and textile-making, this tradition also included music, dance, oral literature, informal theater, culinary arts, and more. Much like jazz musicians, the artists of this tradition reflect the rich, symbolic world of the black rural South through highly charged works that address a wide range of revelatory social and political subjects.
170:, an art historian and collector, began to collect the artworks of largely undiscovered African American artists across nine southeastern states. Developed outside of the structure of schools, galleries, and museums, these rich yet largely unknown African American visual art traditions present a distinct post–Civil Rights phenomenon that offers powerful insight and fresh perspectives into the most compelling political and social issues of our time. The majority of the works and ephemeral documents held by the foundation were compiled by Arnett and his sons over three decades, with the goal of creating a collection that could serve as a record and legacy of this culture.
27:
82:
is a non-profit organization dedicated to documenting, preserving, and promoting the work of leading contemporary
African American artists from the Southeastern United States. Its mission is to include their contributions in the canon of American art history through acquisitions from its collection
193:
In 2014 the Souls Grown Deep
Foundation began a multi-year program to transfer the majority of works in its care to the permanent collections of leading American and international art museums. To date, this program has led to the acquisition of over 350 works by more than 100 artists from the
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The Souls Grown Deep
Foundation Collection contains over 1,100 works by more than 160 artists, two-thirds of whom are women. Ranging from large-scale assemblages to works on paper, the foundation is particularly strong in works dating from the death of Martin Luther King Jr. to the end of the
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568:"Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Make Historic Acquisition of 62 Works of African American Art from the Souls Grown Deep Foundation"
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by major museums, as well as through exhibitions, programs, and publications. The foundation derives its name from a 1921 poem by
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486:"Souls Grown Deep Foundation Begins Series of Gifts/Purchases by Major National Museums | Souls Grown Deep Foundation"
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177:, presented in conjunction with the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and in partnership with the City of Atlanta and the
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98:, who serves as its president, and a member of its board of trustees. Anderson was previously director of the
544:"Souls Grown Deep Foundation Donates 57 Works to Metropolitan Museum of Art | The Metropolitan Museum of Art"
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Museum
Celebrates Recent Acquisition of Works from Souls Grown Deep Foundation with Two Summer Exhibitions
701:"The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Acquires 34 Artworks from Souls Grown Deep Foundation - VMFA Press Room"
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By the mid-1990s Arnett's efforts culminated in an ambitious survey exhibition of this tradition titled
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Souls Grown Deep, Vol. 1: African
American Vernacular Art of the South: The Tree Gave the Dove a Leaf
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Souls Grown Deep
Foundation was founded in 2010, but traces its roots to the mid-1980s, when
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676:"Ackland Art Museum acquires 12 artworks from Souls Grown Deep Foundation - UNC News"
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627:"New Orleans Museum of Art Acquires 10 Works from Souls Grown Deep Foundation"
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History
Refused to Die: Highlights from the Souls Grown Deep Foundation Gift
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Exhibitions of acquisitions from the Souls Grown Deep
Foundation include
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520:"Four U.S. Museums Acquire Works from Souls Grown Deep Foundation"
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Cosmologies from the Tree of Life: Art from the
African American South
91:," the last line of which is "My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
306:"About Souls Grown Deep Foundation | Souls Grown Deep Foundation"
732:"Five More Museums Acquire Art From Souls Grown Deep Foundation"
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Souls Grown Deep: African American Vernacular Art of the South
175:
Souls Grown Deep: African American Vernacular Art of the South
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429:"At the Atlanta Games, Culture Will Be a Serious Competitor"
403:"From the Deep South, an Overlooked Chapter in Art History"
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of Emory University. The subsequent two-volume publication
885:"At the Met, a Riveting Testament to Those Once Neglected"
951:"Souls Grown Deep: Artists of the African American South"
460:
Arnett, Paul; Arnett, William S., eds. (September 2000).
185:, remains the most in-depth examination of the movement.
985:"Called to Create: Black Artists in the American South"
279:
Souls Grown Deep: Artists of the African American South
765:"2020 Acquisition Announcements: Recent Acquisitions"
283:
Called to Create: Black Artists of the American South
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foundation's collection by 17 museums including the
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791:"National Gallery of Art Buys Black Artists' Works"
594:"High Museum Acquires 54 African-American Artworks"
254:. Forty works by 21 artists were purchased by the
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47:
33:
850:"Revelations: Art from the African American South"
1030:Press Release from Philadelphia Museum of Art: "
263:Revelations: Art from the African American South
464:. Atlanta, Ga.: Tinwood Books: Tinwood Books.
281:(2019) at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; and
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797:. Vol. 170, no. 58925. p. C9.
8:
285:(2022-2023) at the National Gallery of Art.
277:(2019) at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts;
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1497:Arts foundations based in the United States
1487:2010 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
242:, Clark Atlanta University Art Museum, the
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273:(2018) at The Metropolitan Museum of Art;
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1428:Stichin' and Pullin': A Gee's Bend Quilt
379:"Artists | Souls Grown Deep Foundation"
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931:from the original on 20 September 2019
355:"People | Souls Grown Deep Foundation"
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823:Harris, Gareth (31 December 2020).
1466:Quilts of the Underground Railroad
858:Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
789:Small, Zachary (January 1, 2021).
763:Tylec, Laurie (28 December 2020).
236:Spelman College Museum of Fine Art
200:Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
118:Among the artists represented are
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1492:African-American cultural history
965:from the original on 19 July 2022
864:from the original on 1 March 2022
730:Sheets, Hilarie M. (2018-11-12).
625:Twersky, Carolyn (2017-07-06).
427:Applebome, Peter (1995-02-01).
1502:Organizations based in Atlanta
592:Chow, Andrew R. (2017-04-25).
248:Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
104:Whitney Museum of American Art
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883:Smith, Roberta (2018-05-24).
518:Selvin, Claire (2019-04-29).
925:Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
331:"The Negro Speaks of Rivers"
244:Minneapolis Institute of Art
220:Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
1406:Souls Grown Deep Foundation
240:Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
228:Morgan Library & Museum
80:Souls Grown Deep Foundation
20:Souls Grown Deep Foundation
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959:Philadelphia Museum of Art
335:The Negro Speaks of Rivers
212:Philadelphia Museum of Art
196:Metropolitan Museum of Art
89:The Negro Speaks of Rivers
72:http://soulsgrowndeep.org/
1453:African-American quilting
1144:Emma Lee Pettway Campbell
208:New Orleans Museum of Art
94:The foundation is led by
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1399:Collecting organizations
179:Michael C. Carlos Museum
1411:Torrey Quilt Collection
1309:Bettie Bendolph Seltzer
1294:Pearlie Kennedy Pettway
1129:Loretta Pettway Bennett
993:National Gallery of Art
829:www.theartnewspaper.com
256:National Gallery of Art
252:The Phillips Collection
1174:Mary Elizabeth Kennedy
490:www.soulsgrowndeep.org
383:www.soulsgrowndeep.org
359:www.soulsgrowndeep.org
310:www.soulsgrowndeep.org
189:Transfer of collection
1364:Deborah Pettway Young
1209:Addie Pearl Nicholson
329:aapone (2003-04-10).
1390:Quilts of Gee's Bend
1385:Freedom Quilting Bee
232:Dallas Museum of Art
100:Dallas Museum of Art
87:(1902–1967) titled "
1354:Estelle Witherspoon
1324:Geraldine Westbrook
1284:Martha Jane Pettway
1179:Nettie Jane Kennedy
1159:Rachel Carey George
1124:Linda Diane Bennett
265:(2017-2018) at the
96:Maxwell L. Anderson
21:
1438:Leaving Gee's Bend
1433:Patricia McKissack
1344:Patty Ann Williams
1339:Nell Hall Williams
1314:Sue Willie Seltzer
1289:Mensie Lee Pettway
1224:Annie Bell Pettway
1154:Minnie Sue Coleman
1099:Louisiana Bendolph
889:The New York Times
795:The New York Times
736:The New York Times
598:The New York Times
433:The New York Times
269:in San Francisco;
216:Ackland Art Museum
204:High Museum of Art
156:Gees Bend quilters
1474:
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1304:Sally Mae Pettway
1254:Jessie T. Pettway
1249:Henrietta Pettway
1104:Mary Lee Bendolph
1084:Nellie Mae Abrams
657:. 10 January 2018
548:www.metmuseum.org
168:William S. Arnett
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1234:Arlonzia Pettway
1229:Annie E. Pettway
1214:Mertlene Perkins
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1034:", May 23, 2019.
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1259:Lola Pettway
1204:Aolar Mosely
1068:Quilters of
1003:26 September
1001:. Retrieved
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703:. 2018-05-22
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