Expanding Tradition: Selections from the Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Collection

This exhibition showcased more than 50 works by important yet underrecognized African American artists in the private collection of Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson, including paintings by Freddie Styles and John Wesley Hardrick and prints by Norman Lewis and Kara Walker. In addition, “Expanding Tradition” celebrated the inception of the Thompsons’ endowed curatorship, held by Dr. Shawnya L. Harris. The Thompsons donated 100 works of art by African Americans to the Georgia Museum of Art in 2012. This exhibition provides an overview of their commitment to collecting art and demonstrates the shifting artistic styles and concerns for African American artists found in their continuously expanding collection.

The museum published a fully illustrated hardcover book to accompany the exhibition, written by Harris and including essays by David C. Driskell and Brenda Thompson, a foreword by director William U. Eiland and artists’ biographies.