Poster for a Committee for the Negro in the Arts (CNA) Convention: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A flier for a Committee for the Negro in the Arts (CNA) Convention featuring hand-drawn letters and illustration. Block letters across the top margin read "CNA CONVENTION." The letters CNA are filled in with crosshatching, while the letters of the word 'convention' are solid. Sketched around the title are words in small letters that read "Art, Music, Film, Dance, Theater, Radio/ Jobs, Education, Opportunities." Extending down vertically below the letters CAN are the words “CULTURAL EVENING”. Hand sketched stage curtains frame the words. At the top left corner is a drama-mask. At the bottom of the curtains are ballet dancers and two musicians on violins. All figures appear as if hand-drawn. On the right side of the poster is a typewritten list of the actors and musicians who will be making an appearance at the event: Sidney Poitier, David Johnson, Harry Belafonte, John Henry, Clarice Taylor, Donald McKayle, Paul Robeson, Kenneth Manigault, Joseph McFadden, Bill Robinson.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1952
• Created by: Committee for the Negro in the Arts, American, founded 1947
• Subject of: Sidney Poitier, Bahamian American, 1927 - 2022
• Subject of: Harry Belafonte Jr., American, 1927 - 2023
• Subject of: Kenneth Manigault, American
• Subject of: Clarice Taylor, American, 1917 - 2011
• Subject of: Donald McKayle, American, 1930 - 2018
• Subject of: Paul Robeson, American, 1898 - 1976
• Owned by: Clarice Taylor, American, 1917 - 2011
• Type: posters
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 11 × 8 7/16 in. (28 × 21.5 cm)
• Place depicted: Harlem, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Art
• Topic: Associations and institutions
• Topic: Education
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Modern dance
• Topic: Professional organizations
• Object number: 2013.188.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of William and James Thomas and family in memory of Clarice Taylor
• 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: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.