The Black Artists: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A documentary film with the title The Black Artists. It consists of a single reel of color 16mm acetate film with optical sound.

The film opens with artist Samella Sanders Lewis walking on a beach as her own voiceover narration plays in the background. In subsequent scenes, three artists create pieces as they describe their creative process: Samella Lewis opines as she paints an abstract piece in oil; William Pajaud describes finding inspiration in church choirs; John Riddle designs a metal sculpture with a flame torch and other instruments, before describing the process of making finishing touches to his works. The film closes with Riddle stating that whenever he completes a work, it "serves as a steppingstone for the next idea."

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1965
• Produced by: Paul Hickman
• Subject of: Samella Sanders Lewis, American, 1923 - 2022
• Subject of: William Pajaud, American, 1925 - 2015
• Subject of: John T. Riddle Jr., American, 1933 - 2002
• Owned by: D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
• Type: sound films
• Type: color films (visual works)
• Type: short subjects
• Type: 16mm (photographic film size)
• Medium: acetate film
• Dimensions: Duration: 28 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 1000 Feet
• Place used: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Art
• Topic: Documentary films
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Process films
• Object number: 2017.55.18.1a
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Transferred from the DC Public Library
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.