A monumental, life-size drawing shows a Black woman with medium-brown skin standing in three-quarter profile, facing our right. Her posture is upright and composed, shoulders squared, as if holding steady through a moment of quiet responsibility. She has long, thick natural hair worn loose and full, framing her face and falling past her shoulders. A folded sheet of white paper (like a program or improvised hat) rests lightly on her head. Her features are modeled with soft highlights along the cheekbone and nose and her mouth is gently closed. Her eyes are focused into the distance and her expression is thoughtful and calm. Her left hand lifts a pencil to her lips in a gesture of concentration as her right arm hangs relaxed at her side, fingers slightly curled. She wears a vivid red dress with dramatic puffed sleeves, a fitted bodice, and a draped, gathered skirt that swells with weight and movement. Cuffed wrists, small buttons, and fabric seams are carefully outlined. At the chest, a striped inset panel is dotted with small celestial emblems set close to the heart. The woman is rendered with meticulous shading in charcoal and conté, while warm coffee washes stain the paper into a soft halo behind her. Faint smudges, tape marks, and the paper’s raw edges remain visible, leaving the surrounding field mostly open so her silhouette and the saturated red garment command the space. American artist Robert Pruitt’s title identifies the usher board, a tradition of many Black American church leadership often carried by women with an ethic of care grounded in welcomeness, order, and protection. The pencil hints at her stewardship and also mirrors the artist’s own tool. Emblems on her bodice like a sunburst and planets stretch the portrait toward history and the future, as if her daily responsibility holds cosmic weight. Created for Pruitt’s CAAM exhibition “Devotion” (2018–19), the work treats its subject as an icon of ordinary greatness: poised, radiant, and fully present.

“Usher Board President” by Robert Pruitt (American) - Charcoal, conté, and coffee on paper / 2018 - California African American Museum (Los Angeles) #WomenInArt #RobertPruitt #BlackArt #AmericanArt #AfricanAmericanArt #art #artText #BlueskyArt #PortraitofaWoman #CAAM #CaliforniaAfricanAmericanMuseum

American artist Ernie Barnes's painting "My Miss America" depicts an African American woman carrying bags, representing the struggles of working class black women in the post World War II era. Through its use of lines to depict the woman's strength and muted colors to suggest her poverty, the painting pays homage to Barnes's own hard-working mother and the dignity of black women during a time of civil rights struggles and segregation. Barnes chose to picture what he believed to be the crowning achievement of African American women. Far beyond traditional pageant categories like evening dresses and swimsuits, Barnes chose to elevate more meaningful qualities and traits. For him, African American women were the source of considerable maternal strength and beauty. The woman pictured in Ernie's My Miss America is a nurturing provider, a source of self sacrificing labor and love. He presents her toting heavy bags of groceries, her eyes closed as if in solemn prayer and purpose. Barnes composed his subject like a pyramid -- broad at the base, tapered at the peak. The folds of her dress give her a monumental, sculptural quality with a sense of permanence. Holding her shopping bags wide at her sides, her figure narrows above her rounded hips, and continues to slim past her waste and shoulders. Her head is the pinnacle. She holds her chin up, with her eyes closed basking in the golden glow that surrounds her. Across his oeuvre, Barnes paints his subjects with their eyes closed, whether they are grooving at the sugar shack, suspended in mid-air trying to connect with a loose soccer ball, or carrying a pair of shopping bags. “I tend to paint everyone, most everyone, with their eyes closed because I feel that we are blind to one another’s humanity so if we could see the gifts strengths and potentials within every human being then our eyes would be open,” Barnes said.

My Miss America by Ernie Barnes (American) - Oil on canvas / 1970 - California African American Museum #womeninart #art #oilpainting #ErnieBarnes #Barnes #CAAM #CaliforniaAfricanAmericanMuseum #womensart #artwork #MissAmerica #AfricanAmericanArtist #fineart #AfricanAmericanArt #AmericanArtist

The 39th annual MELUS conference is just a few days away. This is my first visit to Los Angeles. My schedule is quite tight, but I'll try to find time to visit the California African American Museum.
#MELUS2025
#CaliforniaAfricanAmericanMuseum

#urbansoulfarmer at #CaliforniaAfricanAmericanMuseum