Harlem goes to Washington

Washington, D.C.

The rich and varied life of a key Harlem Renaissance figure can be seen starting Sept. 14 in “The Art of Romare Bearden” at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

The exhibit kicks off a citywide festival, “Blues & Dreams: Celebrating the African-American Experience in Washington, D.C.,” running Sept. 15 to Nov. 30. The Kennedy Center, hotels and museums all have something to offer.

Bearden, probably born in 1911 (the date is disputed) in Charlotte, N.C., moved with his middle-class parents to New York just in time for the Harlem Renaissance. The family’s friends included composer-musicians Duke Ellington and Fats Waller, actor Paul Robeson and activist W.E.B. Du Bois.

As a student, Bearden preferred art to medicine (his mother’s preference) and received formal training in several artistic media. German Expressionist George Grosz was his teacher and mentor.

Bearden was influenced by what he saw and heard in Harlem as well as in Pittsburgh, where he lived for a short while, and the South, where he vacationed, and he also studied paintings by artists as diverse as 14th century Florentine master Giotto and French painter Henri Matisse. Inspiration also came from religious rituals, mythology, jazz clubs and honky-tonk brothels.

During his prolific lifetime, Bearden, who died in 1988, created 2,000 pieces of art: watercolors, gouaches, oils and collages as well as designs for textiles, record album covers, theatrical sets and costumes.

For the exhibit, curator Ruth Fine has selected about 130 pieces, including the 1973 “Berkeley, the City and Its People,” a 10- by 16-foot work on seven panels from Berkeley City Council chambers; and the equally large 1972 painting “The Block II,” depicting life in Harlem, indoors and out. The exhibit, which is free, runs though Jan. 4. For details and updates, call (202) 737-4215 or visit www.nga.gov.

Among the highlights of the African American festival:

* “Before Harlem There Was U Street,” guided walking tours of the area known as Black Broadway, once home to musical icons Pearl Bailey and Ellington. First and third Saturdays, September through November.

* A Sept. 21 concert by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis (who owns several Bearden paintings) with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra at the Kennedy Center.

* Two exhibits at the Martin Luther King Jr. Public Library: “Demonstrating for Civil Rights in D.C.: The March on Washington and Beyond” (Sept. 15 to Nov. 30) and “Romare Bearden’s Magical Memories,” biographical material about the artist (Oct. 2 to Nov. 30).

For information about events, plus hotel and restaurant packages, call (800) 422-8644 or visit www.bluesanddreams.com.