Charles White: A Retrospective unites a selection of White’s finest paintings, drawings, and prints, presenting the full breadth of his work and demonstrating his artistic development. Over eighty paintings, drawings, and prints were assembled to trace Charles White’s four-decade career from his emergence in Chicago through his mature work as artist, activist, and educator. The artist powerfully interpreted African American history, culture, and lives over the course of his four-decade career. The themes he explored—African American history and the fight for freedom, the nobility of Black people, and the dignity of labor and human nature—reveal his talent and passion, and encourage viewers to consider current questions of history, politics, and identity in relation to the recent past.

Charles White: A Retrospective—the first major retrospective of White’s work in more than thirty-five years—showcased an accomplished artist whose work continues to resonate amid contemporary national dialogues about race, work, equality, and history.