Motley, Archibald (1891-1981), was an important African American painter . He was best known for his vibrant scenes of African American life, especially during the Jazz Age of the 1920’s and the Great Depression of the 1930’s.
Motley was one of the first African American painters to portray the social life of black people in American inner cities. He captured the spirit of urban black neighborhoods, such as Bronzeville in Chicago , usually in twilight or in the evening. One example is Untitled (Street Scene, Chicago) (Gettin’ Religion) (1936). He skillfully captured the effects of artificial light, as in electric streetlights, in such paintings as Black Belt (1934). The figures in Motley’s paintings typically are in motion, part of crowded street scenes or dancing in clubs. He was one of the first black artists to vary the skin tones of his subjects, in what he described as “the whole gamut” of African American complexions.
Motley also painted many portraits of African Americans. He believed that by seeing themselves in art, African Americans would take pride in their racial identities. He also hoped that portraits of dignified black subjects would eliminate racial stereotypes. One of the best-known examples is Portrait of a Cultured Lady (1948).
Archibald John Motley, Jr., was born on Oct. 7, 1891, in New Orleans. He moved with his family to Chicago when he was a child. Motley studied at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1914 to 1918. In the winter of 1928, Motley had his first one-man show, at a gallery in New York City. The show was a major success, leading to his receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship to study in Paris in 1929 and 1930. During the mid-1930’s, after he returned to the United States, he found work with the Federal Art Project, a government program created to provide artists with work during the Great Depression.
Motley worked from 1963 to 1972 on his final painting, The First One Hundred Years. It was his most political work, reflecting a personal and national struggle with racism in the United States. Motley died on Jan. 16, 1981.
