Represent

A showcase of more than 180 works of art by African American artistsIn the twelve years since the first edition of Represent was published, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has acquired many more works of art by American artists of African descent. Emma Amos, Hale Woodruff, Senga Nengudi, and Rashid Johnson are among some forty artists newly represented in this expanded edition. Illustrations of key paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, textiles, and photography reveal the breadth of this increasingly rich collection. In thematic essays and individual object entries, such well-known as Jacob Lawrence, Kara Walker, and Faith Ringgold are discussed alongside many who are yet to become household names. In a new introductory conversation, author Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw and Imani Roach place the museum's collection in context and assess the current cultural moment. Reflecting on the treatment of vast and varied works by Black practitioners, an essay by distinguished scholar Richard J. Powell addresses how to survey such a collection while avoiding racial essentialism. Distributed for the Philadelphia Museum of Art