The Negro in art : a pictorial record of the Negro artist and of the Negro theme in art

Alain Locke divides this survey of Black art history into three parts with distinct approaches to the subject. In Part I, "The Negro as Artist," Locke presents a survey of works by Black artists, a history which he argues is "longer and more significant than is generally known." Locke felt that to treat the subject of Black art history adequately he must also include depictions of Black subjects done generally and emphasized "the intriguing chance it affords of making a parallel comparison of the interpretation of the Negro subject from within and without the racial group." Part II, "The Negro in Art," includes plates from a variety of time periods, geographic locations, and artists, from Tintoretto to Winslow Homer. Part III, "The Ancestral Arts," examines the heritage of African art, which Locke encouraged African-American artists to explore in their work.