Untitled (Head of a Woman with Scarf), 1990
Ernest Crichlow was born in 1914 in Brooklyn, New York as one of 9 siblings born to Barbadian immigrants. His early career as an artist was shaped by the community of African American artists brought together by sculptor Augusta Savage for the WPA’s Federal Art Projects. During this period Crichlow worked alongside such artists as Romare Bearden, Charles Alston, and Norman Lewis. In 1942 he exhibited in one of the first gallery shows of African American artists at the Downtown Gallery in New York City, and in 1960, had his first solo show at the ACA Gallery. In 1969, he, Norman Lewis, and Romare Bearden founded the Cinque Gallery, a space dedicated to the advancement of young artists of disadvantaged backgrounds.
Crichlow continued to teach and went on to exhibit in such venues as the Afro-American Artists Museum in Philadelphia, the Boston Museum of Fine Art, the Newark Museum, the New York World’s Fair, and the Institute of Modern Art, Boston, and was one of 10 Black Artists from the National Conference of Artists honored by President JImmy Carter at the White House. His social realist paintings can be found in numerous collections including the Brooklyn Museum, the Hewitt Collection, and the collections of actors Morgan Freeman, Ossie Davis and Lena Horne. The artist passed in 2005.
Crichlow continued to teach and went on to exhibit in such venues as the Afro-American Artists Museum in Philadelphia, the Boston Museum of Fine Art, the Newark Museum, the New York World’s Fair, and the Institute of Modern Art, Boston, and was one of 10 Black Artists from the National Conference of Artists honored by President JImmy Carter at the White House. His social realist paintings can be found in numerous collections including the Brooklyn Museum, the Hewitt Collection, and the collections of actors Morgan Freeman, Ossie Davis and Lena Horne. The artist passed in 2005.