A Visiting Masterpiece: Charles White’s J’Accuse No. 1

This important drawing by American artist Charles Wilbert White (1918–1979) is on loan to the Birmingham Museum of Art from a private collection. This work, J’Accuse No. 1, is part of a series of twelve drawings White created with charcoal and ink-wash. Pieces in this series represent the spectrum of the Black experience, from picturing protestors as revolutionaries to ennobling people experiencing poverty.

White was an African American artist born in Chicago who was committed to representing the breadth of the Black American experience in his art. While living in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, he created powerful images celebrating Black life over four decades. These images remain crucial within the history of American art. Come see this visiting masterpiece in the Museum’s American galleries.

Image caption: Charles Wilbert White (American 1918–1979), J’Accuse No. 1, 1965, charcoal and Wolff crayon on illustration board, Lent by a private collection; Photograph courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.