From our newsletter archives. First published February 6, 2025. Revised.
Exterior view of the Studio Museum in Harlem’s new building. Courtesy Studio Museum in Harlem. Photo: © Dror Baldinger FAIA
This week’s reopening of the Studio Museum in Harlem in a spectacular new building designed by Adjaye Associates is a reminder of the central role this museum has played in the reconfiguration of the art world we know today. By promoting artists of African descent, the museum not only expanded the field of contemporary art, but also helped lay the groundwork for the multiculturalism that is now a dominant trend in art history.
Although there were earlier museums devoted to African American culture, the creation of the Studio Museum in Harlem in 1968 was especially significant. In part, this was due to the prominence of Harlem, but it was also on account of its emphasis on art rather than history. In its first years the museum was held back by the small size of its rented quarters, but in 1982 it was given a large six-story building on West 125th Street. Five years later, it became the first African American museum to be fully accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM).
Gallery 98’s collection of Studio Museum ephemera dates primarily to the years 1982 through 1985, when under the leadership of Mary Schmidt Campbell, the museum moved into the 125th Street building and accelerated its programming. Announcement cards and flyers document the museum’s artist-in-residence program, as well as, an impressive lineup of exhibitions of the work of still under-appreciated black artists like James VanDerZee, Charles White, Sam Gilliam, Roy DeCarava, and Faith Ringgold.
The completion of the Studio Museum’s new building marks an important new chapter in its history. Congratulations are due to Thelma Golden who has been director of the museum since 2005.
You can find more ephemera on our special Studio Museum in Harlem page.
Studio Museum Harlem, Program Calendar, Pamphlet, February – March, 1983. Size: 4.75 x 8.5 inches (folded) 8.5 x 14 inches (unfolded) — Available.
This sketch shows the 144 West 125th Street building that the Studio Museum first occupied in 1982. That structure has been demolished to make way for the new Studio Museum building that now occupies the plot.
Invitation for the Inaugural Exhibitions at The Studio Museum’s New Building on West 125th Street, 1982
Inaugural Exhibitions at The Studio Museum in Harlem, Images of Dignity: Retrospective of Charles White, Ritual and Myth: Survey of African American Art, Harlem Heyday: Photography of James VanDerZee, Folded Card, June 17, 1982. Size: 4.5 x 6.25 inches (folded) 6.25 x 9 inches (unfolded) — Available
The inaugural exhibitions included a survey of African American art as well as separate exhibitions spotlighting artist Charles White (1918–1979) who had recently died, and the elderly photographer James VanDerZee (1886 –1983), who died the following year.
Paintings by Sam Gilliam, 1982
Sam Gilliam, Red & Black to ‘D’, Studio Museum in Harlem, Folded Card, November 16, 1982 – February 27, 1983. Size: 4.25 x 7 inches — Available
The Jazz Photographs of Roy DeCarava, 1983
Roy DeCarava, The Sound I Saw, Folded Card, Studio Museum in Harlem, January 19 – May 20, 1983. Size: 5 x 7 inches.
The Studio Museum’s Artists-in-Residence Program
Studio Museum of Harlem, former artists in residence Janet Henry, Walter Jackson, Tyrone Mitchell; and Alma Thomas: A Life in Art, Card, April 8 – June 5, 1983. Size: 5 x 7.5 inches — Available
The Studio Museum’s Residency Program began when the museum first opened in 1968. Over 100 artists have participated, and its list of alumni, includes such notables as Kerry James Marshall and Simone Leigh.
First Anniversary in The Studio Museum’s New Facility on West 125th Street, 1983
Richard Yarde, Savoy, Studio Museum in Harlem, Folded Card, June 19 – September 7, 1983. Size: 4.5 x 6.25 inches — Available
A Century of Black Photographers 1840-1960
Studio Museum in Harlem, A Century of Black Photographers: 1840-1960 and Southern Roads/City Pavements: The Photography of Roland Freeman, Card, September 22, 1983. Size: 6 x 9 inches — Available
An Exhibition of 20th-Century Quilts Handmade by Black Americans in Southwestern Mississippi, 1984
Annie Dennis, Something to Keep You Warm (1976), from a show of quilts at The Studio Museum in Harlem, Card, January 19 – March 25, 1984. Size: 5 x 7 inches — Available
Who’s Afraid of Aunt Jemima? (1983), Poster Featuring a Quilt by Faith Ringgold, 1984
Faith Ringgold, Twenty Years of Painting, Sculpture and Performance: 1963 – 1983, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Poster, April 8 – September 4, 1984. Size: 18 x 24 inches — Available
The Grand Opening of The New Gift Shop, 1982
Studio Museum in Harlem, Grand Opening of the New Gift Shop, Card, December 3, 1982. Size: 4.75 x 7 inches — Available
The Studio Museum in Harlem, Gift Catalogue, Folded Double-Sided Poster, December, 1984. Size: 5.5 x 8.5 inches (Folded) 17 x 20 inches (Unfolded) — Available
The Studio Museum’s 1984 gift catalogue provides a full overview of the museum’s history with a complete listing of catalogues, posters, books, and gift items from the African diaspora. Click to see the full unfolded poster.
