Exhibitions

Recent Acquistions to the Permanent Collection

In order to showcase the continuing efforts of CAAM to document the African American contributions to the settlement of the West, the Museum presents Recent Acquisitions, 2007. This exhibition is a survey of the most relevant historical objects and artwork purchased by the curatorial team or donated to the museum since 2002.


(Ibo/Igala people of Nigeria) 20th century

Face mask, wood, Ibo/Igala people, Nigeria, West Africa. Represents maiden spirit, danced by Mmwo, men’s secret society. Expressive face, stylized hairdo, surmounted by hat; white, green and black polychrome View


(Yoruba people of Nigeria) n.d.

Gelede headdress, wood, Yoruba people, Nigeria, West Africa. Red and black polychrome; corn-row hairdo View


(Mende/Temne people of Sierra Leone) 20th century

Helmet mask, wood, Mende/Temne people, Sierra Leone, West Africa. Four posts supporting divination for hairdo View


(Yoruba people of Nigeria) 20th century

Gelede headdress, wood, Yoruba people, Nigeria, West Africa. Egungun type, depicting stylized rabbit, danced for “the mothers”. Classic form, emphasis on gazing eyes, facial scarification. Islamic designs and talking drum. View


(Yoruba people of Nigeria) 20th century

Face mask, wood, Yoruba people, Nigeria, West Africa. Epa mask, simplistic face, kneeling figure on top. View


(Wurkun people of Nigeria) 20th century

Staff figure, wood, Wurkun people, Nigeria, West Africa. Figure surmounts iron stake, kept in a hut at center of village, and set in ground to protect crops. Incised geometric patterning of forehead, articulated teeth, deeply carved abdomen and belly button-like delineation and protrusion from top of head. View


Mr. & Mrs. David Allen (unknown) ca 1890

Smartly dressed standing African American couple, man is shown from the front, woman shown in left profile. Married woman's name is Leona Allen (1877-1978). Man is David Allen who was a Chaplain in the Army, stationed at Fort Collins, Nebraska, where he was born. View


(Witsen & Schwan) ca 1910

Smartly dressed standing African American woman, posed with her hand turning pages in a book with a chair behind her. Backdrop displays an outdoor staircase. View


(Rinehart-Marden) ca 1890

Smartly dressed seated seven-member African American band, posed with their instruments (drums, trombone, trumpet, saxophone, (2) clarinets, grand piano and violin). Lloyd Allen on trombone is the brother of Winslow F. Allen. View


(West slide and Photo Service) ca 1920

Seven-member band (two trombones, banjo, saxophone, trumpet, piano and drums) on a parade float for promoting "greater movie season". Lloyd Allen is the brother of Winslow F. Allen. View


(James J. Kriegsmann) ca 1940

Youthful Hazel Scott head shot wearing lace-patterned dress and pearl earring (proper left only). View


(International Hazel Scott Fan Club (photo by James J. Kriegsmann)) late 1940s

Printed fan club card with Kriegsmann photo on reverse, signed by Hazel Scott. View


(James J. Kriegsmann) 1948

Hazel Scott dressed more conservative in basic black photographed with her husband Adam Clayton Powell (married 1945 -1956), Jr. and their son, Adam Clayton Powell, III "Skipper". View


Dolless Hour (Daniel LaRue Johnson) 1962

A doll's head, from a child doll, with paint dripping from it appears in the center of the canvas. It's as if the head were severed from the child's body and blood is dripping from it. The canvas at first glance looks solidly black but on closer examination stars, like the stars on the American flag, appear throughout. View


"M" Series (Daniel LaRue Johnson) 1963

A mousetrap, old radio tubes, a large bolt and a matchbox are placed at the center of an all black canvas. View


A Typical Texas Cotton Field At Picking Time (Keystone View Company) late 19th Century

Stereo card showing six African Americans picking cotton in Texas. View


A Typical Texas Cotton Field At Picking Time (duplicate) (Keystone View Company) ca 1890

Stereo card showing six African Americans picking cotton in Texas. View


A Rice-Raft with Plantation Hands near Georgetown, South Carolina (Underwood & Underwood Publishers) 1904

Stereo card showing African American women on a flatboat with rice-straw. View


"How de Debble Does Dey Make a Bicycle?" (Strohmeyer & Wyman Publishers) 1891

Stereo card showing African American boy with a hammer and wrench scratching his head with a bicycle tire in front of him. Cat and man with a hat in background. View


SNCC’s John Lewis was there, after he changed his speech… (LeRoy W. Jeffries) August 28, 1963

Image of John Lewis at a podium from the historic March on Washington , leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). View


(Dogon people of Mali) 20th Century

Garment stained with organic materials with several pouches sewn to the exterior. View


(Dogon people of Mali) 20th Century

Ceremonial object representing the hunter with his whisk. View


(Dogon people of Mali) 20th Century

Ceremonial object with leather handle adorned with cowry shells and whisk made of animal hair.. View


(Dogon people of Mali) 20th Century

Garment stained with organic materials with several tassels sewn to the exterior. View


I Can Tell The World 1943-1944 (United States Army Negro Chorus) 1944

Yearbook of the United States Army Negro Chorus documenting the organization of a chorus of 200 African American soldiers to sing a program of "Negro spirituals" and folk songs in concert with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, London. View


Untitled (Daniel LaRue Johnson) circa 1970

Blue, green red, and orange vertical lines running from top to bottom in varying widths on navy blue background on one side and on black background on the other. View


For My People (Margaret Walker and illustrated by Elizabeth Catlett) 1992

From the edition limited to 400 copies signed by the author and artist; a set of six color lithographs from 1992 illustrates the stirring poem For My People, written by Catlett's friend Margaret Walker in 1937. The poem mourns the losses, chronicles the endurance, and celebrates the survival of African Americans and looks to a future of liberation and justice. Distributed by The Limited Editions Club, New York. View


Untitled (Marion Sampler) 1995

Flag of the United States at top center surmounts insignia for the National Rifle Association, a quote and bowl of tomato soup on a black field. View


With How Sad Steps, a Moon, Thou Climb'st the Skies (Marion Sampler) 1970s

Abstract geometric shapes concentrated in the center of the paper; circles are filled in with color. View


Perfectly Logical and Inevitable (Marvin Harden) 1969

A heart is apparent in the top left side of the work with a rectangular shape at the center, which is hollowed out. View


(Doris Brandon) August 1965

"Smitty's Barber Shop" storefront on 103rd Street in the Watts section of Los Angeles View


(Doris Brandon) August 1965

Young girl holding umbrella on 103rd Street in the Watts section of Los Angeles in front of dentistry and medical storefronts. View


(Doris Brandon) August 1965

Two suited men (possibly detectives) leaving funeral home in the Watts section of Los Angeles. View


(Doris Brandon) August 1965

Man in white T-shirt in front of pickup truck loaded with barber shop chairs in the Watts section of Los Angeles. View


(Doris Brandon) August 1965

Three women at storefronts on 103rd Street in the Watts section of Los Angeles (woman on far right identified as Wilma Wren, stepdaughter of Candance Wren--who is photographer's aunt). View


(Doris Brandon) August 1965

Two Army National Guardsmen with rifles on 103rd Street in the Watts section of Los Angeles. View


(Doris Brandon) August 1965

Army National Guard truck in front of David Starr Jordan High School campus in the Watts section of Los Angeles. View


(Doris Brandon) August 1965

Army National Guardsman and students from David Starr Jordan High School in the Watts section of Los Angeles. View


(Doris Brandon) August 1965

Group of individuals gather around looted materials at storefront in the Watts section of Los Angeles. View


(Doris Brandon) August 1965

Man looting luggage from storefront in the Watts section of Los Angeles. View


(Doris Brandon) August 1965

Two female shoppers converse with man at 1755- 103rd Street storefronts in the Watts section of Los Angeles. View


(Doris Brandon) August 1965

Man with broom at storefront on 103rd Street in the Watts section of Los Angeles. View


(Doris Brandon) August 1965

Man wearing a hat leaning on a Ford Thunderbird on 103rd Street in the Watts section of Los Angeles. View


(Doris Brandon) August 1965

Three women in front of Dr. Charles Dentist storefront on 103rd Street in the Watts section of Los Angeles (woman on far right identified as Wilma Wren, stepdaughter of Candance Wren--who is photographer's aunt). View


Cosmic Fire (Matthew Thomas) 1986

Top third of painting solid mauve color, remaining is vibrant pastel/metallic markings clustered around five-point star geometric shapes. View


Friday Night (William E. Pajaud) 1970

Image of daily life of residents of New Orleans, fish market depicted. View


Main St. Mission (William E. Pajaud) 1970

African American man shown in undershirt drinking a bowl of soup. View


O.C.'s Honey (William E. Pajaud) 1970

African American woman wearing a kerchief is shown through a window of cabin with sunflowers visible alongside the window pane.. View


Untitled (Elizabeth Catlett) ca 1947-49

Geometric rendering portrait of an African American woman. View


Untitled (Man with Beard) (Charles Wilbert White) ca 1949

Stylized portrait of bearded man. View


(William B. Reily & Company (W.B.R. & Co., Inc.)) 1938

One pound coffee tin depicting African American woman with kerchief serving coffee on a platter. View


(unknown) circa 1939

Doll wears apron and kerchief and holds a White baby. View


(unknown) circa 1939

Rag doll wears checkerboard print dress with red yarn bows in hair. View


Bramble Dance (Alison Saar) 1987

Red male figure (modeled after Saint Sebastian) attempting to remove bramble that has pierced various portions of his body. View


(Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) ca 1966

Black and White hands grasped in a handshake with "SNCC" lettering beneath. View


(not known) ca 1876 - 1886

The cradle has an oval configuration. It was constructed using bentwood slats that curve down to form a flat bottom. The cradle is hung from the frame. It is attached on each end to the frame’s eyebolt. Below the eyebolts are two curved runners. View


Flower Girl: Family Series #85 (Nancy Ann Story Book Dolls, Inc.) circa 1940

Young blonde girl wears short pink dress, white boots and blue ribbon in her hair. Jointed arms and legs. View


Bride: Family Series #86 (Nancy Ann Story Book Dolls, Inc.) circa 1940

Young blonde girl wears chiffon white dress with flowers and silver ribbon attached below PR hand, silver slippers and wedding veil in her hair. Jointed arms and legs. View


Bridesmaid: Family Series #87 (Nancy Ann Story Book Dolls, Inc.) circa 1940

Young blonde girl wears mauve-colored dress with flowers and pink ribbon attached below PR hand, silver slippers and mauve-colored bonnet with flowers in her hair. Jointed arms and legs. View


Groom: Family Series #88 (Nancy Ann Story Book Dolls, Inc.) circa 1940

Young brunette boy wears black tuxedo pants and jacket with white shirt and bow tie and black slippers. Jointed arms and legs. View


Mammy: Family Series #89 (Nancy Ann Story Book Dolls, Inc.) circa 1940

Young Black girl wears red/white gingham dress with white kerchief and apron, and black boots. Jointed arms and legs. View


Pressure From the Right (John Thomas Riddle, Jr.) ca 1965

Two polychromed hexahedrons with parts of a gun welded between them mounted to a steel plate with a steel rod. The hexahedrons are colored with red, white and blue paint. View


Happy Father's Day Mama (Milton Bowens) 2002

A Black man smoking is reproduced three times at the lower center of the piece while the artist plays with the expression "role model" and "roll model." A chicken and a "time to jump ship?" are placed on the left bottom corner. Phrases throughout the red and yellow canvas. View


American Pie (Milton Bowens) 2002

Lists recipe for "American Pie" including crust and filling with Chef's suggestion; slice of pie featured in top right corner on white field above "Reparations"; deconstructs American history through a recipe that contrasts crust and filling, patriotic idealism and social reality. Muted American flag in background. View


Howard Morehead Collection (Howard Lee Morehead) 1940s - 2003

Photographic prints, slides, transparencies, negatives and contact sheets of dignitaries, celebrities, models and musicians from 1940s – 2003; including framed photographs, dry-mounted photographs, photo albums and master lists of artists all by Howard L. Morehead—estimated at over 2,500 pieces View


Rosa Parks (Roderick J. Lyons) 1991

Rosa Parks peers out of the window of a friend's home in Los Angeles. She is shown drawing back the curtains. View


The Strange Tale of Ten Little Nigger Boys (M.A. Donohue & Co; illustrated by “The Pilgrims”) ca 1910

Six-page comic book based on the London Stump Book version of this rhyme; concludes with "Taffy was a Welshman" rhyme. Title changed to "Ten Little Indians" in 1964 when published by Pocket Books. View


Abstract Landscape (Frank James Williams) 1994

Tree occupying center of composition lit by moonlight from behind. Shrubbery surrounding the foreground in a vibrant color palette. View


The Call (Frank James Williams) 2003

Woman seated with her arms around her ankles gazing upwards to her right. View


Infantry Day…in the 92d Division (Published by the "Buffalo" 92d Infantry Division) June 15, 1944

Promotional commemorative pamphlet honoring The Infantryman; Black soldier with rifle and bayonet featured on the cover. View


ca 1945

African American male with a cane and corncob pipe leaning slightly to proper right. He wears a gingham print shirt, jacket, trousers and felt hat. View


ca 1945

African American female with an umbrella and spectacles. She wears a plaid skirt, floral print blouse, bloomers, stockings and polka dot bonnet. View


ca 1945

African American female leaning slightly forward. She wears a plain skirt, Japanese print blouse, bloomers, and a hat decorated with ribbon and beans. View