“It is a lively and fun group,” said Forbes-Fields who went on to encourage those in attendance at the reception to join.

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) exhibition entitled “William H. Johnson: An American Modern” opened with great fanfare on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. The event was hosted by the CMA’s African American Advisory Committee (AAAC).

The event began with introductory remarks from museum leadership followed by information about the African American Advisory Committee. Mark Cole, associate curator of American Painting and Sculpture and the organizer of the exhibition, provided comments about the painter and the artworks amassed for this show. Guests then viewed the exhibition and enjoyed reception.

William H. Johnson (1901-1970) was a prolific American modernist, whose work is now housed in the CMA’s new Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Exhibition Gallery as the inaugural exhibition. Most of the pieces have been assembled from an impressive collection from Morgan State University.

The purpose of the November social affair was to bring members of the African-American community to the museum in celebration of this great African-American artist and to re-introduce to the community the committee. 

The African American Advisory Committee has been in existence for eleven years. The committee chair is CMA Trustee Helen Forbes-Fields, who follows in the footsteps of founding chair and Trustee Emeritus Adrienne Jones (the first African American female on the museum’s Board of Trustees).

In Forbes-Fields’ welcome to the opening of the William H. Johnson exhibition, she thanked the subcommittee who planned the event. She went on to describe the committee as a vital force for diversity and inclusion.  

The committee was formed under the leadership of the museum trustee Adrienne Jones and many of its founding members continue to serve on the committee today, including A. Grace Lee Mims, June Antoine, Emma Benning, Giesele Greene, Bracy Lewis, Franklin Martin, Reverend Otis Moss, Jr., and Forbes-Field. 

“The committee was organized as the African American Community Task Force in 1999 in conjunction with the exhibition of Jacob Lawrence’s ‘Toussaint L’Ouverture series,’ remarked Forbes-Fields. “As Adrienne Jones has said, the committee was formed with the idea of increasing attendance and influence in the museum’s institutional ‘bones.’” 

The woks of William Henry Johnson will be on exhibit at the CMA now through Jan. 27, 2013 at the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Exhibition Gallery (FREE).

William Henry Johnson is a pivotal figure in modern American art. A virtuoso skilled in various media and techniques, he produced thousands of works over a career that spanned decades, continents, and, genres. On view in its entirety for the first time, a seminal collection of 20 landscapes, still life paintings, and portraits covering key stages in Johnson’s career will be presented in “William H. Johnson: An American Modern.”

Developed by Baltimore’s James E. Lewis Museum of Art, Morgan State University, this SITES exhibition represents a unique opportunity to share the artist’s oeuvre with a broader audience. The Cleveland Museum of Art will feature additional works from its own collection.

“William H. Johnson: An American Modern,” an exhibition developed by Morgan State University and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, is made possible through the partial support of the Henry Luce Foundation, and the Morgan State University Foundation, Inc.

Additional support for this exhibition was provided by the Ford Motor Company Fund.

Well-versed in the history and importance of the African American Advisory Committee, Forbes-Field explained that following the success of the Lawrence exhibition, Adrienne Jones organized the “Visions of Race” symposium in 2001, in collaboration with Sharon Patton, then director of the Allen Memorial Art Museum.

In 2002-2003, the museum organized an exhibition of the prints and sculpture of Elizabeth Catlett. The success of these exhibitions and programs led to the formation of a permanent African American Advisory Committee to the museum’s Board of Trustees. Forbes-Fields added, “I can tell you that throughout the museum world, this [was] a rare event.” 

Through the leadership of the African American Advisory Committee, the museum has been able to offer for the last two summers a new paid fellowship for undergraduate students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities through the director’s sponsorship.

The committee chair announced that next summer two fellowships will be available – the second funded through the generosity of advisory committee member Bracy Lewis. Fellows are introduced to the vital work that goes on behind the scenes at the museum and are given substantial projects that allow them to collaborate with staff in Curatorial, Education and Interpretation, and Collections Management.

In 2003, the African American Advisory Committee also established the Friends of African and African American Art, an affiliate group at the museum that encourages the education and collection of works created by African and African American artists. 

The “Friends” programming focuses on the collection of African American Art at the Museum and other institutions in Ohio and beyond.  The Friends group has traveled to art exhibitions held in Washington, D.C., Columbus, Toledo, Detroit and most recently Cincinnati, Ohio. 

“It is a lively and fun group,” said Forbes-Fields who went on to encourage those in attendance at the reception to join.