The Adamson Gallery exhibit “Gordon Parks: An American Lens” is nominally a retrospective, and it does a solid job of hitting the high points of the famed photographer’s long career—his iconic variation on “American Gothic,” a portrait of D.C. custodian Ella Watson with a broom and mop in front of an oversized flag; and an [...]

The Adamson Gallery exhibit “Gordon Parks: An American Lens” is nominally a retrospective, and it does a solid job of hitting the high points of the famed photographer’s long career with the Farm Security Administration and then Life magazine—his iconic variation on “American Gothic,” a portrait of D.C. custodian Ella Watson with a broom and [...]

“African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond” is proof that black artists not named Jacob Lawrence or Romare Bearden produced a ton of compelling 20th century art, even if they make it into our museums less frequently. The sprawling exhibit features 100 works by 43 artists—a generous mix of painters, sculptors, and [...]

Compared to the bold, larger-than-life works in the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s adjoining 30 Americans exhibit of African-American artists, this small exhibition of photographs by Gordon Parks (1912–2006) is positively old-school. But that doesn’t make Parks' works any less gut-wrenching. Parks is best known for his documentary work for Life magazine, where he became the [...]