Out & About: Reception offers first view of African-American art

Members and patrons of The Westmoreland Museum of American Art were invited to a Feb. 15 preview reception on the eve of the opening of “African American Art in the 20th Century,” a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Attendees heard remarks from Richard M. Scaife Director/CEO Anne Kraybill, Chief Curator Barbara Jones and special guest Bentley Brown, the son of one featured artist — the late Frederick Brown — and an artist, curator and educator himself.

Running through May 10, the exhibition features 45 works by 34 artists, created from 1930 through 1998 — a period “bracketed by the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights movement,” according to the museum’s website.

The artists told the stories of people who couldn’t tell the stories for themselves, Brown said, adding that “the important thing to remember is that it is not just Black art, it’s also American art, and it’s art, period.”

Kraybill said it’s the responsibility of the Greensburg museum to display art depicting “the diverse experiences that make up American life.”

Reception attendees enjoyed light bites and libations in the community room while listening to jazz and soul from the Ray Morrison Trio, then moved to the Cantilever Gallery to peruse the exhibition.

Seen: Elizabeth Barker, Sarah Hall, Carlotta Paige, Larry and Ingrid Glasco, James Kraybill, Dr. George and Linda Austin, D’Anna Kromer, Michelle Clark, George and Ginnie Leiner, Gene and Barbara Kravits, Barbara Ferrier, Doug Evans, Joan McGarry and Gary Rahl, Denise Holmes, Lurene Moore, Melissa Moore, Bruce and Kim Palmiscno, Bill and Betsy Blankette, Pamela Curtin, Elise Michaux, Jennifer Lundy and Del and Patty Miller.