February 18, 2010
A serigraph, "Slave ship" by noted African American artist, Romare Bearden (1911-1988), is on display in the lobby of the Kelly Library.
The theme of this print is the 1839 Mende rebellion on the slave ship Amistad. Bearden's visual narrative depicts the culture of the places he lived, which included Pittsburgh, as well as the rural South, Harlem, and the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. The work is from the personal collection of Dr. Jim Stewart and Dr. Caryl Sheffield, who most graciously have loaned it to the PSUGA Library. It will be on display for the next few months.