Existing comment:
Richmond Barthe, 1901-1989
Born Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
The Harmon Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in New York City and active from 1922 to 1967, included this portrait in its exhibition "Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin." To demonstrate its goal of social equality and document noteworthy African Americans' contributions to the country, the foundation had sought portraits from an African American artist, Laura Wheeler Waring, and a Euro-American artist, Betsy Graves Reyneau. The exhibition toured the country for ten years. By 1946, sculptor Richmond Barthé was very well-known in New York City. Reyneau depicted him in his studio with a figure of Jesus Christ titled Come Unto Me. When he completed the work in 1947, Barthé donated it to St. Jude's Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
The Harmon Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in New York City and active from (1922-1967) included this portrait in their exhibition "Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origins" which documented noteworthy African Americans' contributions to the country. Modeling their goal of social equality, the Harmon sought portraits from an African-American artist, Laura Wheeler Waring and Euro-American artist, Betsy Graves Reyneau. The two painters followed the conventional codes of academic portraiture, seeking to convey their sitters extraordinary accomplishments. This painting, along with a variety of educational materials, toured nation-wide for ten years serving as a visual rebuttal to racism.
Betsy Graves Reyneau, 1946 |