Charles White

(American, 1918–1979)

Charles White was an American artist known for murals and prints which often portrayed African American subjects. In particular, he used printmaking as a way to communicate with a wider audience, and produced political cartoons and reasonably priced works as a way to ensure his art remained accessible to the masses. White’s mural, The Contribution of the Negro to American Democracy (1943) at Hampton University is perhaps his best-known work, depicting famous African Americans across history. He saw art as a vehicle for social activism, once remarking: “Art must be an integral part of the struggle. It can’t simply mirror what’s taking place. It must adapt itself to human needs. It must ally itself with the forces of liberation. The fact is, artists have always been propagandists. I have no use for artists who try to divorce themselves from the struggle.” 

White was born on April 2, 1918 on the south side of Chicago. Although he was raised in Chicago, he often visited his mother’s family in Mississippi, and he learned about his African American and Southern heritage through these trips, which would later influence his art. He completed some high school but did not graduate, eventually going on to apply to art school. Multiple art schools rescinded White’s acceptance after learning of his race, but eventually he received a full scholarship to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1938, he was hired to do work for the Illinois affiliate of the Works Project Administration. He went on to teach in New Orleans, where he was briefly married to fellow artist Elizabeth Catlett, and then served in the army in WWII. In his later life, White moved to Los Angeles, and from 1965 to 1979, he taught at the Otis Art Institute, where his students included Alonzo Davis, David Hammons, and Kerry James Marshall. He died in 1979. White’s work came forward once more thanks to a major joint retrospective at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Modern Art in 2018. His work is held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, among others.

Charles White Artworks

Charles White (376 results)
I Have A Dream, 1976

Charles White

I Have A Dream, 1976

Sale Date: April 4, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled (Diego Rivera)., 1936

Charles White

Untitled (Diego Rivera)., 1936

Sale Date: April 4, 2024

Auction Closed

Blues., 1971

Charles White

Blues., 1971

Sale Date: April 4, 2024

Auction Closed

Exodus II., 1966

Charles White

Exodus II., 1966

Sale Date: April 4, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled (Head of a Man in Profile)

Charles White

Untitled (Head of a Man in Profile)

Sale Date: February 17, 2024

Auction Closed

Madonna, 1979

Charles White

Madonna, 1979

Sale Date: February 17, 2024

Auction Closed

Abide

Charles White

Abide

Sale Date: February 17, 2024

Auction Closed

Nude, 1965

Charles White

Nude, 1965

Sale Date: February 15, 2024

Auction Closed

Drawings. 6 offset lithographic prints of..., 1953

Charles White

Drawings. 6 offset lithographic prints of..., 1953

Sale Date: March 30, 2023

Auction Closed

Abide, 1979

Charles White

Abide, 1979

Sale Date: December 2, 2023

Auction Closed

Mother Courage, 1961

Charles White

Mother Courage, 1961

Sale Date: December 2, 2023

Auction Closed

To a Dark Girl, 1965

Charles White

To a Dark Girl, 1965

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Waiting (Awaiting His Return), 1946

Charles White

Waiting (Awaiting His Return), 1946

Sale Date: October 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Triumph, 1956

Charles White

Triumph, 1956

Sale Date: October 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Madonna, 1979

Charles White

Madonna, 1979

Sale Date: October 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Exodus II, 1966

Charles White

Exodus II, 1966

Sale Date: September 20, 2023

Auction Closed

Head of Man in Profile, 1979

Charles White

Head of Man in Profile, 1979

Sale Date: August 26, 2023

Auction Closed

Young Woman (Gedeon Ea15), 1963-64, 1963–1964

Charles White

Young Woman (Gedeon Ea15), 1963-64, 1963–1964

Sale Date: June 23, 2023

Auction Closed

Juna #Z, 1965

Charles White

Juna #Z, 1965

Sale Date: June 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1949

Charles White

Untitled, 1949

Sale Date: May 20, 2023

Auction Closed

Freedom Soldiers (Frederick Douglass with..., 1965

Charles White

Freedom Soldiers (Frederick Douglass with..., 1965

Sale Date: May 17, 2023

Auction Closed

Missouri C., 1972

Charles White

Missouri C., 1972

Sale Date: May 11, 2023

Auction Closed

Patriarch, Portrait of John Brown, 1959

Charles White

Patriarch, Portrait of John Brown, 1959

Sale Date: May 12, 2023

Auction Closed

Love Letter I, 1971

Charles White

Love Letter I, 1971

Sale Date: April 18, 2023

Auction Closed