e The Harlem Renaissance lasted from the early twenties through the thirties. It was a unique movement in history highlighted by the visual, musical, and literary art of many new black artists. The art is what people portray as the brilliant works inspired future generations. These art pieces were written and based off of life-events, history, and experience. The legacy and pieces of art left behind and forged during the renaissance were products of true inspiration and experience the artists had to go through in their lifetimes. One famous artists of the Renaissance, Aaron Douglas, was considered to be one of the fathers of the renaissance. He was famous for incorporating many traditional and old styles into his paintings, such as Egyptian art, Western Landscape, and geometric figures. This is what made his style so unique. Douglas' paintings had a lot of meaning as well, he was inspired by slavery in America, segregation, jazz, and everyday black life and culture. Douglas inspired a lot of people during the renaissance, the Public Works of Art Project even sponsored Douglas to make multiple murals for the NY Public Library. Douglas' works were based off of experience and history and as a result ended up inspiring thousands of people, even to this day.
These photos were some of Douglas' most famous work, each one of these pieces was a mural. These certain pieces were put here because of their deep meanings and imagery of the African American life in the 1930's. These pieces best represent Douglas and the "New Negro" philosophy of the renaissance. These represent Douglas's understanding of the time of slavery to the current culture of African Americans, it does so by showing that history will always be present in culture.