Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist

Archibald Motley (1891—1981) was one of the most important figures associated with the Harlem Renaissance and is best known as both a master colorist and a radical interpreter of urban culture. Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist is the first full-scale survey of his paintings in two decades. The exhibition will offer an unprecedented opportunity to carefully examine Motley’s dynamic depictions of modern life in his home town, Chicago, as well as in Jazz Age Paris and Mexico. Specifically, it will highlight his unique use of both expressionism and social realism and will resituate this underexposed artist within a broader, art historical context. The exhibition will be presented in the sky-lit eighth floor galleries. Read our review.

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Self-Portrait (Myself at Work) (1933), Archibald J. Motley Jr. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois. © Valerie Gerrard Browne

Nude (Portrait of My Wife) (1930), Archibald J. Motley Jr. Image courtesy the Chicago History Museum. © Valerie Gerrard Browne

Hot Rhythm (1961), Archibald J. Motley Jr. Image courtesy the Chicago History Museum. © Valerie Gerrard Browne

Tongues (Holy Rollers) (1929), Archibald J. Motley Jr. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois. © Valerie Gerrard Browne

Gettin’ Religion (1948), Archibald J. Motley Jr. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois. © Valerie Gerrard Browne