Tag: Ackland Art Museum

Mending Socks by Archibald Motley, 1924, The Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina.

Although considered part of the Harlem Renaissance movement, Motley never lived in Harlem. He was born in New Orleans and moved to Chicago where he studied art the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. This painting from early in his career shows his grandmother Emily Motley (a former slave) quietly mending socks surrounded by mementos and references to her life.