Black Africa and the US Art World in the Early 20th Century

Aesthetics, White Supremacy

P A Mullins author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Anthem Press

Published:9th Jan '24

Should be back in stock very soon

Black Africa and the US Art World in the Early 20th Century cover

Explores critical connections between Black African objects and white Western aesthetics and artwork in the United States from the late 1800s until 1939, drawing from primary source materials and various scholarship in the field including philosophy, history, sociology, and anthropology.

This book explores several critical connections between Black African objects and white Western aesthetics and artwork in the United States from the late 1800s until 1939.

This book will explore several critical connections between Black African objects and white Western aesthetics and artwork in the United States from the late 1800s until 1939. Drawing from primary source materials and various scholarship in the field (philosophy, history, sociology, anthropology, museum studied, art history, cultural studies), the book provides an analysis of the threads of white supremacy which run through early scholarship and understandings of Black African object within the United States and how scholars use the objects to reinforce narratives of “primitive” Black Africa and civilized, advanced white Europe and the United States.

This book is an interesting and innovative study of how connections between Black African objects and white Western aesthetics and artwork supported and (re)produced the ideology of white supremacy in the United States between the late 1800s and the beginning of World War II. It shows how social and political issues that are acute up to now manifested themselves in specific ways in the art world in that turbulent era. Importantly, Mullins’ book also convinces that Africa has always been an important point of reference for American cultural, intellectual and sociopolitical life. —Dmitri M. Bondarenko, Institute for African Studies.


P. A. Mullins presents a strong case for researchers, scholars, and lay art historians to study and unravel the politics of the art world in national museums with displays about Africa. The scholarship is original and contributes to knowledge in terms of exposing not-so-obvious denials and revisionist US history.—Ronald J. Stephens, Professor of African American Studies at Purdue University.

ISBN: 9781839989360

Dimensions: 229mm x 153mm x 20mm

Weight: 454g

276 pages