The Charles White Gallery

Welcome to the website for The Charles White Gallery. The Charles White Gallery is an institution that will forever allow the public to see the work of this American master and learn about his life. The gallery is a place for artists, art enthusiasts, students, families, and members of the community to learn about the life and work of Charles White and other artists who share a similar commitment to human dignity and social justice. The gallery will have an active educational component, hosting groups from public schools, colleges and universities in the region and will regularly hold seminars and panel discussions on issues related to the mission of the Gallery. The Archives of the gallery will be available to artists, scholars and students.

Charles White was one of the greatest African-American artists of the 20th Century, a committed, socially-conscious figurative painter and lithographer whose remarkable graphic skills were matched by his powerful imagery. Examples of White’s drawings and paintings are owned by several of the major art museums in the United States. His work has been featured in numerous museum and gallery shows, and has been written about extensively. His work addresses universal issues concerning social justice and depicts what he has called the dignity and humanity of all peoples. His passion for art was accompanied by a love of teaching. White mentored many students who became accomplished professional artists in their own right. Since his death in 1979, White’s reputation has only grown. His work continues to be exhibited and addressed in scholarly books, a significant portion of his oeuvre remains outside the public domain and in private collections. The Gordon family and the White family have the good fortune to own a critical mass of the work of Charles White. They have made this work available to the public through the establishment of the Charles White Gallery.