Allan Crite
Encyclopedia
Allan Rohan Crite
Allan Rohan Crite (March 20, 1910 – September 6, 2007 was a Boston
-based African-American artist born in North Plainfield, New Jersey
.
He has won several honors, such as the 350th Harvard University Anniversary Medal.
, he instead went to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, from which he graduated in 1936.
Crite later decided to attend Harvard University
, where he completed his studies, receiving an ALB in 1968. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Suffolk University
in Boston.
Crite was among the few African-Americans ever employed by the Federal Arts Project. In 1940, he began a 30-year relationship with the Boston Naval Shipyard when he took a job as an engineering
draftsman
.
During his later years, Crite both lived and worked in the Allan Rohan Crite Research Institute at 410 Columbus Avenue in Boston's South End.
He died of natural causes in his sleep at age 97.
Crite was a devout Episcopalian, and his religion inspired many of his works.
According to one biographer, his favorite color was "all colors" and his favorite time of year was "anything but winter."
His paintings fall into two categories: religious themes and general African-American experiences, with some reviewers adding a third category for work depicting Negro spirituals. His 1946 painting Madonna of the Subway is an example of a blend of genres, depicting a Black Holy Mother and baby Jesus riding Boston's Orange Line
.
Crite explained his body of work as having a common theme:
According to one reviewer, "Crite's oils and graphics, even when restricted to black and white, are bright in tonality, fine and varied in line, extremely rhythmic, dramatic in movement, and often patterned."
Crite's works hang in such major American art galleries as the Smithsonian, the Museum of Fine Arts
, and the Art Institute of Chicago
.
as Swing Low Sweet Chariot and Nobody Knows the Trouble I See.
His works were shown in a coordinated series of posthumous exhibitions in 2007-08, at the Boston Public Library
, the Boston Athenaeum, and the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists
.
Allan Rohan Crite (March 20, 1910 – September 6, 2007 was a Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
-based African-American artist born in North Plainfield, New Jersey
North Plainfield, New Jersey
North Plainfield is a Borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 21,936....
.
He has won several honors, such as the 350th Harvard University Anniversary Medal.
Personal life
Crite's mother, Annamae, was a poet who encouraged her son to draw. He showed promise early, enrolling in the Children's Art Centre at United South End Settlements in Boston and graduating from The English High School in 1929. Accepted at YaleYALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, he instead went to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, from which he graduated in 1936.
Crite later decided to attend Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he completed his studies, receiving an ALB in 1968. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Suffolk University
Suffolk University
Suffolk University is a private, non-sectarian, university located in Boston, Massachusetts and with over 16,000 students it is the third largest university in Boston...
in Boston.
Crite was among the few African-Americans ever employed by the Federal Arts Project. In 1940, he began a 30-year relationship with the Boston Naval Shipyard when he took a job as an engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
draftsman
Technical drawing
Technical drawing, also known as drafting or draughting, is the act and discipline of composing plans that visually communicate how something functions or has to be constructed.Drafting is the language of industry....
.
During his later years, Crite both lived and worked in the Allan Rohan Crite Research Institute at 410 Columbus Avenue in Boston's South End.
He died of natural causes in his sleep at age 97.
Artwork
According to one biographer, his favorite color was "all colors" and his favorite time of year was "anything but winter."
His paintings fall into two categories: religious themes and general African-American experiences, with some reviewers adding a third category for work depicting Negro spirituals. His 1946 painting Madonna of the Subway is an example of a blend of genres, depicting a Black Holy Mother and baby Jesus riding Boston's Orange Line
Orange Line (MBTA)
The Orange Line is one of the four subway lines of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. It extends from Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain, Boston in the south to Oak Grove in Malden, Massachusetts in the north. It meets the Red Line at Downtown Crossing, the Blue Line at State, and the Green...
.
Crite explained his body of work as having a common theme:
According to one reviewer, "Crite's oils and graphics, even when restricted to black and white, are bright in tonality, fine and varied in line, extremely rhythmic, dramatic in movement, and often patterned."
Crite's works hang in such major American art galleries as the Smithsonian, the Museum of Fine Arts
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
, and the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
.
Books
Among Crite's illustrated books are 1948's Three Spirituals from Earth to Heaven, in which he illustrated religious stories from such African-American spiritualsSpiritual (music)
Spirituals are religious songs which were created by enslaved African people in America.-Terminology and origin:...
as Swing Low Sweet Chariot and Nobody Knows the Trouble I See.
Exhibitions
Crite's major exhibitions include 1920’s Harmon Foundation Exhibitions, 1930s Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1936 Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1939 Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 1978 and The Boston Athenaeum, 1997.His works were shown in a coordinated series of posthumous exhibitions in 2007-08, at the Boston Public Library
Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was the first publicly supported municipal library in the United States, the first large library open to the public in the United States, and the first public library to allow people to...
, the Boston Athenaeum, and the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists
National Center of Afro-American Artists
The National Center of Afro-American Artists is an institution founded in 1968 by Elma Lewis to "preserv[e] and foster[] the cultural arts heritage of black peoples worldwide through arts teaching, and the presentation of professional works in all fine arts disciplines." Although the...
.
External links
- Collection of paintings at negroartist.com
- "School's Out" at Smithsonian American Art MuseumSmithsonian American Art MuseumThe Smithsonian American Art Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C. with an extensive collection of American art.Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a broad variety of American art that covers all regions and art movements found in the United States...
