Art Review: ‘Afro-Atlantic Histories’ at National Gallery

The National Gallery of Art’s new exhibition, Afr0-Atlantic Histories, explores the history and cultural legacy of the transatlantic slave trade. It’s a tweaked version of a bigger exhibition organized by the São Paulo Museum of Art in Brazil in 2018 focusing on black culture in Brazil. After its run at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the show is now in D.C.

I recommend it. I learned a great deal, and the art’s very good. A greenhorn from the Green Mountain State, I knew next to nothing about Brazil aside from “The Girl from Ipanema”; the Line of Demarcation in 1493, in which the pope, of all uninformed, self-interested people, used a ruler and a straight line to divide the New World between Spain and Portugal; and the movies Black Orpheus and That Man from Rio.

About the Author

Brian T. Allen

Brian T. Allen is National Review’s art critic.

The National Gallery of Art’s new exhibition, Afr0-Atlantic Histories, explores the history and cultural legacy of the transatlantic slave trade. It’s a tweaked version of a bigger exhibition organized by the São Paulo Museum of Art in Brazil in 2018 focusing on black culture in Brazil. After its run at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the show is now in D.C.

I recommend it. I learned a great deal, and the art’s very good. A greenhorn from the Green Mountain State, I knew next to nothing about Brazil aside from “The Girl from Ipanema”; the Line of Demarcation in 1493, in which the pope, of all uninformed, self-interested people, used a ruler and a straight line to divide the New World between Spain and Portugal; and the movies Black Orpheus and That Man from Rio.