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ALBANY, N.Y. – Through the Eyes of Others: African Americans and Identity in American Art, organized by the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., opens September 8 at the New York State Museum as the next exhibition in the Bank of America Great Art Series.

On view through January 6, 2010 in the Museum’s West Gallery, the exhibition is the 21st installment of the Bank of America Great Art Exhibition and Education Program, which brings art from New York State’s leading art museums and collections to the State Museum. This exhibition juxtaposes 19th-century views of American life with contemporary interpretations by prominent African American artists to examine how Americans have constructed and interpreted race. Together, the more than 50 visual images and artifacts make it easier to understand the role of race in American culture in the past and the legacy that attitudes about race bring to bear in the present.

Many of the works were amassed by 19th-century collector Stephen C. Clark and the Fenimore Art Museum. Additional selections were culled from various public and private collections, including those of the New York State Museum. The exhibition was curated by Gretchen Sullivan Sorin, director and distinguished professor of the Cooperstown Graduate Program.

The art of the Fenimore Art Museum – largely a 19th-century collection -- includes many images of African Americans that fit within two categories. Most of the images illustrate how the nation perceived its black countrymen. They felt, as W.E.B. DuBois, African American writer and intellectual, wrote in 1903, as if they were always looking at themselves “through the eyes of others.”

The portraits commissioned by black sitters, or works of art produced by black artists, offer viewers an alternative perspective. In this second category, these self-presentations, some of which are anonymous, show individual voices and distinct personalities.

Sorin states that "since our perceptions of one another are grounded in that which we see, this exhibition -- a new look at the collections of the Fenimore Art Museum -- in concert with the work of a wide variety of African American artists -- is designed as an exploration of visual culture to start the conversation anew. Conversations about race are uncomfortable and often avoided or denounced as no longer necessary. But such conversations are the tools that we Americans use to collectively and continuously expand our democracy."

Through the Eyes of Others contains a lithograph by Norman Rockwell, works by celebrated artists such as painter Edward Lamson Henry and sculptor John Rogers, and African American artists including Kyra Hicks, Whitfield Lovell, and Faith Ringgold. Also on display are drawings, photographs, woodcuts, art objects, books and ephemera.

One notable artifact from the Fenimore Art Museum is the Van Bergen Overmantel, ca. 1733, an oil painting on cherry wood that was part of a paneled fireplace wall in a Dutch farmhouse in Greene County. The overmantel defines the social hierarchy in Dutch New York, depicting both black and white servants. Unlike the black servants, the white indentured servants gained their freedom once the indentured ended.

Creative Art Day, a free program on November 21 from 1 to 3 p.m., is planned to complement the exhibition. It is designed to encourage families to participate in artful activities. For more information call 518-473-7154 or email psteinba@mail.nysed.gov to reserve a space.

Through the Eyes of Others is funded in part by the Institute for Museum and Library Services. The New York State Museum also expresses its gratitude to Bank of America, the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly for making this exhibition possible. Additional support is provided by the Times Union and CBS6.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Started in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

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