Acknowledgments

Oehler, Sarah Kelly; Adler, Esther

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Acknowledgments

Sarah Kelly Oehler (Editor), Esther Adler (Editor)

Charles White: A Retrospective

Vital conservation support also came from painting conservator Allison Langley and book conservator Christine Fabian...

Author

Sarah Kelly Oehler (Editor), Esther Adler (Editor)

PublisherArt Institute of Chicago

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-100004

Acknowledgments

Charles White’s career was shaped by communities of talented, dedicated people who shared his vision and values. It is not surprising, then, that a similar community has come together to organize the first major reconsideration of his art since 1982. The collaborative spirit shared by curators, scholars, collectors, and admirers has served the project brilliantly. That White’s work inspired this partnership is a testament to its power and continuing relevance.

Our greatest debt of gratitude is due to the people who knew White best—his family, especially C. Ian White of the Charles White Estate. Ian has been a steadfast and generous advocate for this exhibition. He accommodated endless research requests with extraordinary good humor and patience. We thank him, his wife Virginia, and their son Gordon for their enthusiasm. We also thank Charles White’s daughter Jessica for her support.

White’s former students are an equally dedicated group, and their willingness to discuss his work, his teaching methods, and his influence on them has contributed significantly to this exhibition. We thank especially David Hammons, Judithe Hernández, Kerry James Marshall (who also contributed the preface to this catalogue), Kent Twitchell, and Richard Wyatt Jr. In addition, we are grateful to Ulysses Jenkins, Timothy Washington, Stanley Wilson, and many others who shared their experiences.

In our research on White we have benefited from the many scholars who have come before us and whose thoughtful approach to his work and career set a high standard we strove to meet. We extend special thanks to Peter Clothier and Lucinda Gedeon for their significant early research into White’s life and, most important, their interviews with the artist; and to Andrea Barnwell Brownlee for her 2002 monograph on him. Many colleagues shared invaluable input; in particular, we recognize those who participated in a research convening at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016: Julia Tatiana Bailey, Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, Erik Gellman, Laura M. Giles, Adam Green, Melanie Herzog, Darlene Clark Hine, Kellie Jones, Amy Mooney, Daniel Schulman, Mary Helen Washington, and Ian White. One of our proudest accomplishments is the publication of this major exhibition catalogue on White’s work. Catalogue authors Ilene Susan Fort, Kellie Jones, Kerry James Marshall, Mark Pascale, and Deborah Willis contributed insightful essays that will introduce White to a new generation of readers. Ilene and her colleague Devi Noor at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art have been essential partners in bringing this exhibition to the city that was so critical to White’s later life and career. Additional research assistance was graciously provided by archivists and librarians around the country, including Lesley Martin, Chicago History Museum; Cynthia Fife-Townsel, Michael Flug, and Morag Walsh, Chicago Public Library; DeLisa A. Minor Harris, Franklin Library at Fisk University, and Cara Moore, National Archives and Records Administration at Saint Louis. We also thank Jan Abbot; Kirill Chunikhin; Erica Moiah James, Yale University; and Jim Parker.

The following colleagues at museums throughout the United States provided critical support as we traveled to view and research White’s work; they also generously agreed to our requests for loans: Andrew Walker and Shirley Reece-Hughes, Amon Carter Museum of American Art; Rena M. Hoisington, the Baltimore Museum of Art; Carter Foster and Veronica Roberts, Blanton Museum of Art; Maurita Poole, Clark Atlanta University Art Collection; Sharon Corwin, Elizabeth Finch, and Justin McCann, Colby College Museum of Art; Margi Conrads, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; Curlee R. Holton and Dorit Yaron, David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora, University of Maryland; Tracee Glab, Flint Institute of Arts; Sara Arnold, the Gibbes Museum of Art; Martha Tedeschi and Elizabeth Rudy, Harvard Art Museums; Michael Rooks, High Museum of Art; Gwendolyn H. Everett and Scott Baker, Howard University; James Glisson, the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens; Cherise Smith, Lise Ragbir, and Sonja Reid, John Warfield Center for African and African American Studies, University of Texas at Austin; Patrick Shepler, Library of Congress, Washington, DC; Leslie Jones and Sarah Newby, Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Sheena Wagstaff and Cynthia Iavarone, the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Gail Stavitsky and Osanna Urbay, Montclair Art Museum; Helen Burnham, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Edmund Barry Gaither, Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists; Stephanie Knappe, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; Margaret O’Reilly and Jenny Martin, New Jersey State Museum; Andrea Ko, Newark Museum; Shelley Langdale, Philadelphia Museum of Art; Laura M. Giles, Princeton University; Melissa Wolfe, Saint Louis Art Museum; Stacy Walsh, Sheldon Museum of Art, University of Nebraska; Virginia Mecklenberg, Smithsonian American Art Museum; Maséqua Myers, South Side Community Art Center; Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, Spelman College; Hannah Moshier, UCLA Library Conservation Center; and Adam Weinberg, Whitney Museum of American Art.

Private collectors of White’s works are particularly attached to them, and we thank those who graciously lent prized paintings, drawings, and prints: Pamela and Harry Belafonte; Merill C. Berman; the Davidsons; Harold Davis, MD; The Harmon and Harriet Kelley Foundation for the Arts; William M. and Elisabeth M. Landes; Estate of Norman Lewis; Michael Rosenfeld and Halley K. Harrisburg of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York; Maryanne Mott and curator Stephanie James, Mott-Warsh Collection; Mr. and Mrs. Salz; Mr. and Mrs. Richard Wyatt Sr.; and Charles M. Young of Charles M. Young Fine Prints & Drawings, LLC, Portland, Connecticut, as well as those who have chosen to remain anonymous.

A project of this scale and complexity would be impossible without the support of visionary funders. In Chicago, lead funding was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation and Denise and Gary Gardner. We also thank corporate sponsors Allstate and ComEd. Charles White: A Retrospective is part of Art Design Chicago, an initiative of the Terra Foundation for American Art exploring Chicago’s art and design legacy, with presenting partner The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation. The exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago and The Museum of Modern Art is funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Annual support for Art Institute exhibitions is provided by the Exhibitions Trust: an anonymous donor; Neil Bluhm and the Bluhm Family Charitable Foundation; Jay Franke and David Herro; Kenneth Griffin; Caryn and King Harris, The Harris Family Foundation; Liz and Eric Lefkofsky; Robert M. and Diane v.S. Levy; Ann and Samuel M. Mencoff; Usha and Lakshmi N. Mittal; Sylvia Neil and Dan Fischel; Thomas and Margot Pritzker; Anne and Chris Reyes; Betsy Bergman Rosenfield and Andrew M. Rosenfield; Cari and Michael J. Sacks; and the Earl and Brenda Shapiro Foundation. Additional support for The Museum of Modern Art presentation is provided by significant donors who contribute to MoMA’s Annual Exhibition Fund.

The unparalleled staff of our two institutions, led by James Rondeau and Glenn D. Lowry, made our collaboration on this important exhibition a success. We thank both James and Glenn for their encouragement. At the Art Institute of Chicago, early support from then deputy director Martha Tedeschi and her successor Sarah Guernsey was crucial. We thank the generosity of our colleagues in the Department of Prints and Drawings, led by Kevin Salatino: Mary Broadway, Kristi Dahm, Christine Conniff O’Shea, Antoinette Owen, Maria Christina Rivera Ramos, Margaret Sears, and Emily Ziemba all contributed tremendously to the success of the exhibition through loans, conservation, and preparation. Mark Pascale was a crucial partner; his knowledge, dedication to Charles White, and amiability have enriched this project from the beginning. Vital conservation support also came from painting conservator Allison Langley and book conservator Christine Fabian.

In the Department of American Art, Julie Warchol and her predecessor Denise Mahoney served as highly capable exhibition managers, while Tim Roby and Christopher Shepherd expertly led the installation team. Former Mellon Undergraduate Fellow Sheridan Tucker Anderson was critical in the early days of research. Finally, we are entirely indebted to research associate John Murphy, whose intellect, research skills, and sheer tenacity have made this catalogue a far superior resource for future scholars.

Staff in the Project Management and Registration Departments, including Zahra Bahia, Jennifer Paoletti, and Joyce Penn, adroitly managed the budget, oversaw contractual arrangements, and organized the safe transport and handling of the works, along with countless other details. Exhibition designer Samantha Grassi conceived of the physical space of the exhibition with skill and finesse; her vision was executed with care by the talented carpenters, painters, and electricians of Museum Facilities, led by Joe Vatinno. Graphic design was beautifully presented by Cassie Tompkins. In the Department of Learning and Public Engagement, overseen by Jacqueline Terrassa, many colleagues contributed to the success of interpretation and programming, including Erica Hubbard, Nenette Luarca-Shoaf, Kamilah Rashied, and Fawn Ring, by engaging our audiences in compelling ways. Michael Neault and his team in Digital Experience, in particular Kelly McHugh and Kyle Obriot, likewise embraced the project with enthusiasm.

Catalogue research was aided by the staff of the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries, particularly director Douglas Litts, librarian Autumn Mather, archivist Deborah Webb, and former reference librarian Anne Danberg. We also thank former Mellon Fellow Kathleen Tahk for her assistance with translations. Members of the Department of Publishing, led by Greg Nosan, then oversaw production of this elegant catalogue. We thank Rachel Edsill, Lauren Makholm, and Joseph Mohan for their dedication to the publication’s quality; Katie Levi for her hard work as photography editor, and the extraordinary editorial team of Sara Carminati, Lisa Meyerowitz, and Maia Rigas for their keen eyes and insightful suggestions. Editorial intern Kenny Guay provided assistance at various stages. P. D. Young and his colleagues in Imaging assisted with catalogue photography. Roy Brooks of Fold Four designed the stunning catalogue. Juliet Clark assisted with proofreading and Scott Smiley with indexing.

At The Museum of Modern Art, thanks are due to Nancy Adelson, Quentin Bajac, Ramona Bannayan, Todd Bishop, Stuart Comer, Leah Dickerman, James Gara, Patty Lipschutz, Peter Reed, Rajendra Roy, Martin Stierli, and Ann Temkin. Michelle Elligott and Jennifer Tobias in Archives, Library, and Research Collections provided critical research support, while Mack Cole-Edelsack and Lana Hum in Exhibition Design and Production have ensured that the exhibition looked its best, together with registrars Regan Hillman and Stefanii Ruta-Atkins, Rob Jung and the team of preparators, and framer Peter Perez. Chloe Capewell, Jennifer Cohen, Cate Griffin, Rachel Kim, and Erik Patton in Exhibition Planning and Administration managed myriad collaboration details. We extend warm thanks to Meg Montgoris and Sara Beth Walsh in Communications; Ingrid Chou, Claire Corey, and David Klein in Graphic Design; Robert Gerhardt, Robert Kastler, and Jennifer Sellars in Imaging and Visual Resources; and Christopher Hudson and Maria Marchenkova in Publications. It has been a pleasure to work with our colleagues in Education on the programming surrounding this exhibition, and we are grateful for their enthusiasm and creativity. Special acknowledgment is due to Sara Bodinson, Pablo Helguera, Sarah Kennedy, Jenna Madison, and Jess Van Nostrand, led by the fearless Wendy Woon.

In the Department of Drawings and Prints, chief curator Christophe Cherix gave this exhibition his unwavering support, and curators Samantha Friedman, Jodi Hauptman, and Sarah Suzuki offered critical counsel. Kiko Aebi, Alexandra Diczok, Emily Manges, and John Prochilo all provided assistance during the course of planning the exhibition, for which we are very grateful. Laura Neufeld in Paper Conservation was a generous partner in the research and planning of the show, often traveling with the curators to see particular works by Charles White, and we thank her for her insight and good cheer. A number of interns and fellows assisted in the considerable amount of research for the exhibition, including Virginia McBride and Jared Quinton. Ashley James was an engaged and enthusiastic partner and also contributed significantly to the catalogue. Megan Kincaid managed the complexities of the exhibition with tremendous organizational skill and forethought.

Finally, we cherish our own communities at home for providing the support and inspiration we need—Christopher “Hopper” Oehler and Gary, Mason, and Lily Kessler.

Sarah Kelly Oehler
Field-McCormick Chair and Curator of American Art
The Art Institute of Chicago

Esther Adler
Associate Curator, Department of Drawings and Prints
The Museum of Modern Art

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