Can a single work of art reclaim a lost history?
In short: Scholar David Driskell examines Aaron Douglas's powerful painting, Let My People Go, exploring how visual art serves as a vessel for historical reclamation.
In this MetCollects feature, David Driskell, a professor emeritus at the University of Maryland, College Park, discusses Aaron Douglas's ca. 1934–39 oil on Masonite work, Let My People Go. The piece, measuring 48 x 36 inches, was acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2015 through the Lila Acheson Wallace Gift.
The video provides context on Douglas, an American artist who lived from 1899 to 1979, and includes archival footage from the 1937 Harmon Foundation presentation, A Study of Negro Artists.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Scholar David Driskell on Aaron Douglas's Painting "Let My People Go" | MetCollects
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