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Exhibitions

From the Heart: The John and Vivian Hewitt Collection of African-American Art

September 6 - January 20, 2025

50 Exb Img From The Heart Image Info

Image credits: Hale Woodruff, "The Card Players," detail, 1978, Oil on canvas, 36 x 42 ¼ inches, Permanent Collection of Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture. Generously donated by Bank of America Corporation.

From the Heart celebrates the John and Vivian Hewitt Collection of African-American Art, an assemblage of fifty-eight two-dimensional works exploring the expression and passion of twenty artists.

The Hewitts' stewardship culminated in a collection of artwork by 19th and 20th-century masters including Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, and Henry Ossawa Tanner. Through their 50 years of collecting, the Hewitts became close friends with many artists, and by the 1970s, they were hosting visitors in their home to showcase works by Hale Woodruff, Ernest Crichlow, Alvin Hollingsworth, and J. Eugene Grigsby, a cousin of Mrs. Hewitt.

In 1998, Bank of America acquired the collection from the Hewitts and pledged it to the then-named Afro-American Cultural Center. For 10 years, the Hewitt collection toured the United States before showing at the newly opened Harvey B. Gantt Center in 2009. From the Heart serves as the first time the Hewitt Collection will be exhibited in its entirety since 2015.

In 2004, Mrs. Hewitt stated in the Baltimore Sun, "We bought from the heart, the things that moved us and that we liked." As the Gantt celebrates its 50th anniversary, we reflect on the Hewitts' legacy – one that continues to move and inspire us. For the Gantt Golden Year, we present the Hewitts' priceless and timeless gift, from our heart to yours.

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