Charles Alston

Artist and educator

• Born: November 28, 1907
• Birthplace: Charlotte, North Carolina
• Died: April 27, 1977
• Place of death: New York, New York

Best known as a muralist, illustrator, painter, and educator, Alston had a major impact on the art world through his passion for combining disparate art styles, which allowed him to create something both fresh and socially powerful.

Early Life

Charles Henry Alston was born on November 28, 1907, in Charlotte, North Carolina. His father, Primus Priss Alston, was a prominent Episcopalian minister and educator known as the “Booker T. Washington of Charlotte.” Primus died in 1910 of a cerebral hemorrhage. Alston led what can be considered a privileged life in Charlotte. His mother, Anna Elizabeth Miller Alston, remarried a few years later and the family relocated to Harlem in 1915. His stepfather, Harry Pierce Bearden, was the uncle of the artist Romare Bearden. As a child, Alston became intrigued by art. As a teenager, he produced his first oil painting, a self-portrait. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School, where he was the art editor of DeWitt’s literary magazine.

Although he received a scholarship to the School of Fine Arts at Yale University, Alston decided to remain in New York and attend Columbia University’s School of Fine Arts. As an undergraduate, Alston was not allowed to take a life drawing class because of his race. It was considered inappropriate for him to draw a nude female model. Majoring in fine arts and history, he received a B.A. in 1929. During his years at Columbia, Alston was introduced to recent trends in contemporary art. His immersion into modern art helped him to form his own unique view of what he wanted to do with his art. Alston especially was intrigued by the paintings and sculpture of the Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani.

Life’s Work

While at Columbia, Alston was influenced by the African American philosopher Alain Locke. Locke spoke of the need for black artists to employ African forms in order to express their life experiences. Feeling that it was important for him to remain connected with the Harlem community, Alston became the director of Utopia House, a camp for boys. He started an arts program there that encouraged the boys to express themselves creatively. One of the students whom he encouraged was Jacob Lawrence, who went on to become a great artist himself. After completing his undergraduate studies, Alston entered Columbia’s Teachers College. He also found work as an illustrator, creating album covers for Duke Ellington and book covers for Langston Hughes. Alston’s training helped him to develop an intriguing blend of contemporary and primitive styles in various media. He also was influenced by the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, through whose work he saw how art could make a social statement. In 1931, Alston received his master of fine arts degree.

During the 1930’s, Alston painted several murals in Harlem. Two of his most striking murals, Magic and Medicine and Modern Medicine, were installed at the Harlem Hospital in 1940. The white director of the hospital did not approve of the murals and attempted to keep them from going on display. These murals were made possible by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). During the Great Depression, the WPA funded various arts projects in order to stimulate creativity across the country. Alston became one of the first African Americans to become a supervisor for WPA art projects. In 1944, he married Myra Adala Logan, a respected surgeon at the Harlem Hospital.

During World War II, Alston served in the U.S. Army. He was assigned to the staff of the Office of War Information and Public Relations as an artist. Alston took on less commercial work in the late 1940’s and began to concentrate on developing a more abstract style. In 1950, he became the first African American instructor at the Art Students League of New York. He would remain on staff there until 1971. Another first came in 1956, when Alston was appointed to teach at the Museum of Modern Art. During the 1950’s and 1960’s, he continued to push artistic boundaries. He refused to adhere to the critical precepts of the day that considered it inappropriate for artistic styles to be merged. Alston also became very active in fighting for civil rights. In the late 1960’s, he started teaching at City College of the City University of New York (CUNY). Alston became a full professor at CUNY in 1973. He continued to teach there until his death in 1977. Alston received his first major retrospective exhibition at the Kenkeleba Gallery in New York in 1990.

Significance

Alston is not only remembered for his many striking murals, paintings, illustrations, and sculptures, but also for his role as an educator. He was generous with his encouragement of his students at CUNY and the Art Students League. He took inspiration from many artistic styles, including abstract and African forms. Always willing to experiment, Alston believed strongly in being open to change. He also passed on to his students a sense of adventure and curiosity that was the hallmark of his art. Two of his most illustrious students were Lawrence and Romare Bearden.

Bibliography

Bearden, Romare, and Harry Henderson. A History of African-American Artists: From 1792 to the Present. New York: Pantheon, 1993. A gripping overview of the contribution that African American artists have made to the United States. Alston was a leading figures in the art world in the 1930’s and beyond.

Bernier, Celeste-Marie. African American Visual Arts: From Slavery to the Present. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008. Alston as muralist and educator is prominently discussed in this rich history of African American art.

Lewis, Samella. African American Art and Artists. Rev. ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994. This volume takes the time to add the weight of historical perspective to where Alston fits into African American art of the 1930’s forward.

Macklin, A. D. A Biographical History of African-American Artists, A-Z. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press, 2001. Includes a concise discussion of Alston’s importance as an artist.

Wardlaw, Alvia J. Charles Alston. San Francisco: Pomegranate, 2007. A fascinating narrative on Alston’s important contributions to not only African American art but also to the larger world of art.