Mondays at Beinecke: Douglass, Baldwin, Harrington: The Collections of Walter O. Evans at Beinecke Library

Zoom webinar registration: https://bit.ly/3H0b8Yv

A discussion of the library’s latest exhibition with curators Melissa Barton, Nancy Kuhl, and Kassidi Jones. On view from January 26 - July 7, 2024, the exhibition explores extraordinary materials collected by Walter and Linda Evans now in the Beinecke’s care. The show celebrates three towering figures of Black history, art and culture: Frederick Douglass, James Baldwin, and Ollie Harrington. The Evans collections together bring political and cultural history into close engagement with arts and letters. These collections and the figures they feature demonstrate powerful ways creative work may serve as a form of social justice advocacy in ways that continue to inspire.

“Douglass, Baldwin, Harrington” honors Walter and Linda Evans and their work advocating for, documenting, and celebrating Black arts in America. Their ongoing leadership in public dialogue about the need for more inclusive American arts and cultural heritage collections, and for greater public access to the work of Black artists, serves as an inspiration to all of us.

The exhibition has three parts: Frederick Douglass: Family and Legacy, curated by Melissa Barton; “Love Jimmy”: Letters from James Baldwin to Mary Painter, 1957, curated by Nancy Kuhl; and, Ollie Harrington: Expressing the Revolution, curated by Kassidi Jones.

Mondays at Beinecke online talks focus on materials from the collections and include an opening presentation at 4pm followed by conversation and question and answer beginning about 4:30pm until 5pm.