First Monograph on Photographer Kwame Brathwaite Explores 'Black Is Beautiful' Legacy
On May 1, 2019, the inaugural monograph detailing Kwame Brathwaite's artistic journey was released, encompassing 144 pages and featuring 91 photographs. Born in New York in 1938 and passing away in 2023, Brathwaite utilized his photography in the late 1950s to promote the 'Black Is Beautiful' movement. In 1962, he co-founded both the African Jazz Arts Society and Studios and Grandassa Models. The publication showcases portraits of Grandassa Models alongside depictions of Harlem's vibrant artistic scene. His work significantly impacted the Black Arts and Black Power movements, highlighted by events such as the Motortown Revue (1963) and Wattstax '72 (1972). Authored by Tanisha C. Ford and Deborah Willis, Brathwaite is represented by Philip Martin in Los Angeles.
Key facts
- First monograph on Kwame Brathwaite published May 1, 2019
- Brathwaite popularized 'Black Is Beautiful' through photography in the 1950s-1960s
- Co-founded AJASS and Grandassa Models in 1962 with brother Elombe Brath
- Book includes 144 pages and 91 images
- Brathwaite photographed Harlem artists like Max Roach and Miles Davis
- His work influenced Black Arts and Black Power movements
- By the 1970s, he was a top concert photographer for Stevie Wonder and Bob Marley
- Recent acquisitions by MoMA, Whitney Museum, MIT, and Tang Teaching Museum
Entities
Artists
- Kwame Brathwaite
- Elombe Brath
- Marcus Garvey
- Max Roach
- Abbey Lincoln
- Miles Davis
- Stevie Wonder
- Bob Marley
- James Brown
- Muhammad Ali
- Tanisha C. Ford
- Deborah Willis
- Ekow Eshun
- Morgan Jerkins
- Beyoncé
- Barack Obama
Institutions
- African Jazz Arts Society and Studios (AJASS)
- Grandassa Models
- Philip Martin
- New York Amsterdam News
- City Sun
- Daily Challenge
- Museum of Modern Art
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College
- University of Delaware
- Tisch School of the Arts, New York University
- Hutchins Center, Harvard University
- Financial Times
- Guardian
- Hyperallergic
- Artsy
- Aperture
- Organization of American Historians
- Liberty Legacy Foundation
- Elle
- Atlantic
- Root
- Feminist Wire
- Cognoscenti
- New York Times
- New Yorker
- Ebony
- NPR's Code Switch
- New York Magazine: The Cut
- TEXTURES
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Los Angeles
- Harlem
- Delaware
- Zaire
- Africa
- Brooklyn