Charles White, Love Letter III, 1977

The painter Charles White created works that have been described as “images of dignity” of African Americans during his four-decade career. The artist died in 1979 and taught highly acclaimed contemporary artists including Kerry James Marshall

and David Hammons. Marshall has previously said: “Under Charles White’s influence I always knew that I wanted to make work that was about something: history, culture, politics, social issues.” White’s new exhibition at MoMA in New York has just opened, his first museum survey in over thirty years.