SHSMO Art Curator Joan Stack, PhD, presents a virtual tour of the 2021 Ellis Library exhibition, Historic Images of Black Families: Representation, Identity, and Diversity. Focusing on artworks and photos from SHSMO collections, the show explores the various ways African American families have been depicted in 19th and 20th-century art. Included are lithographs by Thomas Hart Benton, editorial cartoons by Tom Engelhardt, and vernacular photographs by anonymous photographers.
In this discussion, Stack explores each piece’s significance, examines collecting Black history, and shares how to access resources for Black history research at the State Historical Society of Missouri.
The exhibition and this virtual tour are a collaboration of the State Historical Society of Missouri, University of Missouri Libraries, and University of Missouri Black History Month Committee.