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The Public Virtual Reading Room

Welcome to the Public Virtual African American Art Reading Room Catalog Shelf. This collection features sixteen free books and exhibition catalogs highlighting the creativity, history, and vision of African American artists. As a valued patron, you have full access to browse and download all works at your convenience. The titles are drawn from open-access and public-domain collections at museums, libraries, and archives, making them freely available for research, study, and personal exploration. Use this catalog to discover, read, and engage with the rich legacy of African American visual art across the centuries.

© 2025 Virtual African American Art Reading Room – Library Catalog. This catalog is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives).
Download and read all linked works freely. Downloads are provided directly from open-access museum and library collections.
Redistribution or commercial use of this catalog is not permitted.

How to Use This Catalog

  • Browse: Scroll through the entries to view titles, authors/institutions, years, sources, and formats.
  • Download: Click the links provided to view online or save to your device.
  • Search: Use your browser’s search tool (Ctrl + F / Cmd + F) to quickly locate artists, topics, or institutions.
  • License: This catalog is provided under a CC BY-NC-ND license. You may download and use for personal study, but redistribution and commercial use are not permitted.

Library Catalog — Entries 1–16

Title: Two Centuries of Black American Art
Author/Institution: David C. Driskell / LACMA
Year: 1976
Source/Collection: Internet Archive
Format: PDF
Direct Link: Download PDF
Type/Tags: Exhibition catalog; Monograph
Title: Selections of Nineteenth-Century Afro-American Art
Author/Institution: Regenia A. Perry / The Met
Year: 1976
Source/Collection: The Met (MetPublications)
Format: PDF
Direct Link: Download PDF
Type/Tags: Exhibition catalog; Met publication
Title: Black Art: Ancestral Legacy — The African Impulse in African-American Art
Author/Institution: Dallas Museum of Art / H. N. Abrams
Year: 1998
Source/Collection: Internet Archive
Format: PDF
Direct Link: Download PDF
Type/Tags: Exhibition book; Museum publication
Title: Harlem Renaissance Art of Black America
Author/Institution: The Studio Museum in Harlem
Year: 1987
Source/Collection: Internet Archive
Format: PDF
Direct Link: Download PDF
Type/Tags: Exhibition catalog; Harlem Renaissance
Title: Represent: 200 Years of African American Art
Author/Institution: Philadelphia Museum of Art
Year: 2000
Source/Collection: Museum publication
Format: PDF
Direct Link: Download PDF
Type/Tags: Exhibition catalog
Title: Facing History: The Black Image in American Art, 1710–1940
Author/Institution: National Gallery of Art
Year: 1990
Source/Collection: Exhibition catalog
Format: PDF
Direct Link: View Online
Type/Tags: Exhibition catalog; Art history
Title: The Black Image in the White Mind
Author/Institution: Houston A. Baker, Jr.
Year: 1992
Source/Collection: Academic text
Format: PDF
Direct Link: Download PDF
Type/Tags: Art criticism; Race and visual culture
Title: Witness: Art and Civil Rights in the Sixties
Author/Institution: David C. Driskell / High Museum of Art
Year: 2008
Source/Collection: Exhibition catalog
Format: PDF
Direct Link: Download PDF
Type/Tags: Exhibition catalog; Civil Rights era
Title: Black Art in America: The 20th Century
Author/Institution: Samella S. Lewis
Year: 1990
Source/Collection: Internet Archive
Format: PDF
Direct Link: Download PDF
Type/Tags: Art history; 20th century
Title: Art of the Harlem Renaissance
Author/Institution: The Met / Metropolitan Museum of Art
Year: 1995
Source/Collection: The Met Publications
Format: PDF
Direct Link: Download PDF
Type/Tags: Exhibition catalog; Harlem Renaissance
Title: African American Art: A Century of Struggle and Achievement
Author/Institution: University of California Press
Year: 1985
Source/Collection: Internet Archive
Format: PDF
Direct Link: Download PDF
Type/Tags: Art history; 20th century
Title: Contemporary Black Artists in America
Author/Institution: Smithsonian Institution
Year: 1992
Source/Collection: Smithsonian Open Access
Format: PDF
Direct Link: View Catalog
Type/Tags: Contemporary art; Exhibition catalog
Title: Ebony Showcase: African American Artists
Author/Institution: Ebony Magazine
Year: 1969
Source/Collection: Internet Archive
Format: PDF
Direct Link: Download PDF
Type/Tags: Exhibition catalog; Magazine publication
Title: Black Women Artists: Past and Present
Author/Institution: Rutgers University Art Center
Year: 1989
Source/Collection: Exhibition catalog
Format: PDF
Direct Link: Download PDF
Type/Tags: Exhibition catalog; Women artists
Title: Visionary Art: African American Painters
Author/Institution: American Art Museum
Year: 2001
Source/Collection: Smithsonian Open Access
Format: PDF
Direct Link: View Online
Type/Tags: Exhibition catalog; Museum publication
Title: The Art of African American Artists
Author/Institution: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Year: 1999
Source/Collection: Museum publication
Format: PDF
Direct Link: Download PDF
Type/Tags: Exhibition catalog

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