Charles White: A Retrospective

October 07, 2018–January 13, 2019

Floor Three, The Edward Steichen Galleries

With Charles White: A Retrospective, The Museum of Modern Art and the Art Institute of Chicago present the first major museum exhibition of Charles White’s oeuvre in over 30 years, on view at The Museum of Modern Art from October 7, 2018, through January 13, 2019. Covering the full breadth of his career with over 100 multidisciplinary works, the exhibition features drawings, paintings, prints, photographs, and contextual ephemera. Prior to its MoMA presentation, the exhibition will be on view at the Art Institute of Chicago from June 8 through September 3, 2018. Following its MoMA presentation, the exhibition will travel to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), where it will be on view in Spring 2019.

Beginning in the late 1930s and concluding with White’s premature death in 1979, the exhibition features a detailed overview of his work over a four-decade span of enormous change in the US that provided a constant wellspring of subject matter for the artist. The presentation reveals White as a responsive visual strategist who was open to exploring styles and techniques inspired by contemporary art and culture, and a savvy interpreter of an evolving political climate. White’s commitment to figuration, to directly addressing the social and political concerns of his time, and to mastering mediums that allowed for wide circulation of his art established him as a major figure, and one with significant influence on his peers and followers.

The exhibition is organized chronologically, with groupings centered on the cities and creative communities in which White lived and worked. Each section will be supported by relevant ephemera and supporting materials detailing White’s working process, political and social activities, and role as a teacher.

Charles White: A Retrospective is organized by Esther Adler, Associate Curator, Department of Drawings and Prints; and Sarah Kelly Oehler, Field-McCormick Chair and Curator of American Art, Art Institute of Chicago.

Charles White: A Retrospective is part of Art Design Chicago, an exploration of Chicago’s art and design legacy, an initiative of the Terra Foundation for American Art with presenting partner The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.

The exhibition is supported at The Museum of Modern Art and Art Institute of Chicago by the Terra Foundation for American Art.