Article: Art historians try to identify enslaved Black child in an 18th-century portrait (Published 12th October 2021) https://www.cnn.com/style/article/ycba-research-yale-portrait-tan/index.html
Another Article: 'Extremely rare' 17th-century painting of Black woman with White companion placed under export bar from UK. https://www.cnn.com/style/article/britain-painting-export-bar-intl-scli-gbr/index.html
This portion of the "Art historians try..." article caught my eye: "...People contacted me and said, 'Your institution has all these horrible paintings -- what are you going to do about it?'" she recalled.
At first, the criticism perplexed her, Martin said, because she "didn't think it was true."
"And then I realized slowly what they were talking about -- that it was that painting," she said of the group portrait. "It was hard for me to hear because from my vantage as an art historian. It's a minor painting by a minor artist, and we have major paintings by major artists."
and this portion: "As the museum gears up to return the 18th-century group portrait to the gallery, Martin is braced for the potential response.
"I don't think anyone wants to validate any of the more negative aspects of the painting," she says. "How long will it stay? That's the answer I don't have just yet. The conversation is evolving.""
Bleeping minor painting by a minor artist. Who says that? Courtney J. Martin says that. I've said elitist things at an exhibition. I've said elitist things pertaining to art society outside of an exhibition. Just another life lesson to learn from. Thou shall not elitist.
Articles and Links:
"Get to know Yale leaders": https://your.yale.edu/get-know-yale-leaders-courtney-j-martin
"Director of Yale Center for British Art (Courtney J. Martin) embraces a global framework" https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2020/09/10/director-of-yale-center-for-british-art-embraces-a-global-framework
Artist Titus Kaphar: https://www.kapharstudio.com/work/
