The Art of Harlem presented Feb. 3 at Greenwood Lake Library

Greenwood Lake - The Albert Wisner Public Library and the Greenwood Lake Public Library will sponsor a program Saturday, Feb. 3, devoted to the ”The Art of the Harlem Renaissance” at 1 p.m. at the Greenwood Lake Library’s Community Room. Art historian and college professor Susan Slater-Tanner will lead the discussion with a 90-minute multi-media presentation exploring this remarkable art movement. The paintings of Aaron Douglas, Jacob Lawrence, Lois Mailou Jones and Romare Bearden will be carefully considered. The Harlem Renaissance is described as a time in the 1920s and 1930s when an unprecedented explosion of creativity among African-Americans occurred in all fields of art. Harlem attracted a prosperous and stylish black middle class from which sprang this extraordinary artistic epicenter. Like other avant-garde movements of dance, film, theatre and cabaret, Harlem nightlife, with its dance halls and jazz bands, featured prominently in the work of these artists. More than a literary movement and more than a social revolt against racism, the Harlem Renaissance exalted the unique culture of African-Americans and redefined American artistic expression. Slater-Tanner has been a resident of Orange County for more than 25 and has taught art history in several metro-New York colleges, including SUNY New Paltz and Pace University. For more than 10 years, Slater-Tanner has taught at SUNY Orange in Middletown where she directs the Harriman Student Gallery Research. Registration is required for this free adult and young adult (ages 12 and up) program. Call the Albert Wisner Public Library at 986-1047 to register or stop by the reference desk. The Greenwood Lake Library is located at 79 Waterstone Road. The telephone number is 477-8377.