The Harmon Foundation was established in 1921 by wealthy real-estate developer and philanthropist William E. Harmon (1862–1928). A native of the Midwest, Harmon's father was an officer in the

10th Cavalry Regiment The 10th Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army. Formed as a segregated African-American unit, the 10th Cavalry was one of the original "Buffalo Soldier" regiments in the post–Civil War Regular Army. It served in combat during t ...

. The Foundation originally supported a variety of causes, including playgrounds and nursing programs, but is best known for having served as a large-scale patron of

African-American art African-American art is a broad term describing visual art created by African Americans — Americans who also identify as Black. The range of art they have created, and are continuing to create, over more than two centuries is as varied as the ...

that helped gain recognition for African-American artists who otherwise would have remained largely unknown. Mary B. Brady was the director of the foundation from 1922 until 1967. It offered awards for distinguished achievements in eight different fields: literature, music, fine arts, business and industry (such as banker

Anthony Overton Anthony Overton Jr. (March 21, 1865 – July 2, 1946), was an American banker and manufacturer. He was the first African American to lead a major business conglomerate.Harvard Business School. American Business Leaders of the Twentieth CenturyAnth ...

in 1927), science and innovation, education (for example, educator Janie Porter Barrett in 1929), religious service, and race relations and sponsored traveling art exhibitions. Beyond offering support directly to outstanding individuals in the Black community, its educational outreach included films and books.

Scholarships and Playgrounds

The Harmon Foundation was established as "a medium through which constructive and inspirational service for others may be rendered." William Harmon, who had for years been making secret philanthropic donations in the guise of his alter ego, "Jedediah Tingle," began his foundation's work with a test of the efficacy of loans vs. scholarships in college education, and outright grants to local municipalities for the purpose of establishing permanent playgrounds.

Awards (1926-1933)

The

William E. Harmon Foundation Award for Distinguished Achievement Among Negroes #REDIRECT William E. Harmon Foundation Award for Distinguished Achievement Among Negroes {{R from move ...

was created in 1926.Gates & Higginbotham, p. 3. It was offered for distinguished achievement in many different fields among Negroes or in the cause of race relations. The award recognized achievements in eight fields: * business and industry (such as banker

in 1927) * education (for example, educator Janie Porter Barrett in 1929) * fine arts * literature * music * race relations * religious service * science and innovation In seeking to reward excellence and increase prestige, the Foundation did not grant awards in every field at every presentation. Awards were most regularly granted in the arts, in part to meet the pent up energies of a generation of African American intellectuals and artists. Indeed, "submissions in the fine arts category was the chief venue open to African American artists," at least during the first decade of the Foundation's existence. This helped art education programs grow in many areas. Among the many recipients of the awards were

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(his winning piece was ''The Octoroon Girl''),

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and

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Exhibitions (1927-1967)

Dillard University, Harmon exhibit - NARA - 559220

African Americans had struggled to find public exhibition space throughout the early years of the 20th Century. "Prior to the end of World War I, State Fairs and other such expositions were practically the only spaces Black artists had to display their art." The Foundation's annual ''Exhibition of the Work of Negro Artists'', conceived by Mary Brady, was held in 1927 through 1931, 1933, and 1935. This series offered Black artists the first serious venue for exhibition available exclusively for their work on a something-approaching national basis. Key elements of the Harmon art exhibitions were offers of "substantial prizes" together with gold, bronze medals, and, perhaps more importantly, the Harmon Foundation arranged for these exhibitions to travel, opening spaces for the artwork where it would have been challenging for individual artists to gain exposure.

Laura Wheeler Waring Laura Wheeler Waring (May 16, 1887 – February 3, 1948) was an American artist and educator, best known for her paintings of prominent African Americans that she made during the Harlem Renaissance. She taught art for more than 30 years at Ch ...

was one of the artists featured the first year of the exhibitions, and the Foundation commissioned her to do portraits of prominent African Americans.

1933 Exhibition of the Work of Negro Artists, Art Centre, New York

Traveling Exhibitions

Joint Exhibitions

*Conrad Kickert (1933), sponsored jointly by the National Alliance of Art and Industry

Disestablishment

The Harmon Foundation closed in 1967. Its substantial collection of art was dispersed among numerous museums, including the Smithsonian and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington.

Notes

References

* Driskell, David C. (2001). ''The Other Side of Color: African American Art in the Collection of Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr.'' Pomegranate. * Gates, Henry Louis, & Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham (eds) (2009). ''Harlem Renaissance Lives: From the African American National Biography.'' Oxford University Press, USA. {{Authority control Foundations based in the United States African-American arts organizations Organizations established in 1922 Organizations disestablished in 1967 1922 establishments in the United States 1967 disestablishments in the United States