Norman Lewis

Born and raised in Harlem, Norman Lewis began his art career by painting in the style of social realism and depicted themes that his predominantly African American community dealt with on a daily basis, such as racial prejudice, evictions, and police brutality. However by the middle of his artistic career, Lewis felt that his social realism paintings could not accurately express the depth of the social conflict he sought to depict, and began to paint in an abstract expressionist style.

Using expressionism as a mode to translate social themes into abstract ideas and feelings, Lewis painted urban life in bright swatches of color and textured lines. Though his work evolved form representational images to abstract paintings, these black swatches evoked visceral emotion and felt more human than his paintings of people ever could.