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  • The Door (Admissions Office) (1969)

    David Hammons

    This wood door with glass inset is imprinted “Admissions Office” directly above a black body print pressed against the glass. The imagery speaks to being on the outside looking through but not being admitted. In the 1960s, James Meredith sued the University of Mississippi on behalf of himself and all Negroes being denied college admission. It was one of many actions of the time taken to gain access and recognition through closed doors. The door is an ironic icon for this Places of Validation, Art, and Progression exhibit—it not only represents the obvious political, social, and racial barriers that kept Blacks out of mainstream America but just as clearly depicts the artistic and cultural blinders that also impeded progress, but propelled great acts of defiance and efforts to validate and create our own parallel opportunities. The California African American Museum first displayed The Door in its exhibit 19 Sixties: A Cultural Awakening Re-Evaluated, 1965–1975 (1989). While on exhibit, The Door was purchased, along with seven other works, by the California African American Museum (CAAM) Foundation with a grant from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. To this day, it remains one of the most requested and borrowed works in CAAM's collection.


    Wood, acrylic sheet, and pigment construction 79 x 48 x 15 in
    Gift of the California African American Foundation; Collection of Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum © Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum

  • Bird and Diz, Spirit Versus Technology Series (1973)

    John Thomas Riddle


    Mixed media assemblage within an ammunition box 36 x 24 (open) x 6 in
    CAAM Foundation Purchase, with funds provided by the City of Los Angeles, Cultural Affairs Department in 1990. Gift from CAAM Foundation to Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum in 2011 © 1973 Estate of John T. Riddle, Jr

  • Fifteen (1979)

    John Thomas Riddle


    Serigraph 40 x 27 in
    On loan from the Jefferson-Johnson Family © 1979 Estate of John T. Riddle, Jr.

  • Animal (1974)

    Suzanne Fitzallen Jackson

    A large-scale work of a white bird resembling a crane and the shadow of a foxlike animal behind it. There are spots of bright primary colors—red, yellow, and blue—in the piece.


    Oil on canvas 80 x 80 in
    Gift of Joan D. Payne to the collection of the California African American Museum Original gift of Joan D. Payne. © Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum

  • Energy (1970)

    Timothy Washington

    This tall figure has a removable pelvic plate that reveals the face of a baby, the arms are represented by wheels, and the head is absent, although there is a large, organic headdress.


    Mixed media 96 x 30 x 12 in
    CAAM Foundation purchase, with funds provided by the City of Los Angeles, Cultural Affairs Department; Collection of Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum © Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum

  • Ethnic Heritage Series: California Crosswalk (1979)

    John Outterbridge


    Metal, wire, cloth, mixed media 28 x 36 x 72 in
    CAAM Foundation purchase, with funds provided by the City of Los Angeles, Cultural Affairs Department; Collection of Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum © Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum

  • Freedom Now (1966)

    Charles White


    Oil on canvas 40 1/2 x 50 1/4 in
    Gift of the Director of Arts Circle; Collection of Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum Originally purchased for the CAAM Fnd by the Arts Council of CAAM Fnd from the Heritage Gallery. CAAM Fdn gifted to Friends, the Fdn of CAAM willful right to publish & exhibit. Underlying © in Charles White

  • Untitled (1975)

    Doyle Lane

    This untitled piece by Doyle Lane is a clay painting with red, green, and black pigments.


    Ceramic and glaze mounted on board 21 x 21 x 1 1/4 in
    California Afro-American Museum Foundation Purchase; Collection of Friends, the Foundationof the California African American Museum © Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum

  • Untitled (Vase) (1965)

    Doyle Lane


    Ceramic and glaze Height: 6 in., diameter: 5 in
    California Afro-American Museum Foundation Purchase; Collection of Friends, the Foundationof the California African American Museum © Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum

  • The Face of JuJu/Bay Study (1963)

    Rozzell Sykes

    This portrait by Rozzell Sykes is painted on found railroad board with heavy cracking.


    Impasto acrylics on railroad board 41 x 31 in
    Gift of S. and W. White; Collection of Friends, the Foundation of the African American Museum © Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum

  • My Miss America (1970)

    Ernie Barnes


    Oil on canvas 49 x 37 in
    Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Ron Meyer; Collection of Friends, the Foundation of the California African Museum © Friends, the Foundation of the California African Museum

  • Sambo's Banjo (1971)

    Betye Saar

    The image of a Sambo figure is found on the cover of a banjo case. Inside the case there is a wooden toy Sambo figure, along with a plastic rifle, a mirror, a transparency of male banjo player, and a metal skeleton figure with a colored photocopy of a lynched man. Also included in the piece is a large slice of watermelon made of wood with seeds attached to it.


    Wood, cloth, paint, mirror, plastic objects, transparency 41 x 14 1/2 x 4 1/2 in
    CAAM Foundation purchase, with funds provided by the City of Los Angeles, Cultural Affairs Department; Collection of Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum © Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum

  • Untitled (1961)

    Herman Kofi Bailey, Jr


    Pen and ink wash 28 x 22 x 3/4 in
    Gift of Ethel Tracy; Collection of Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum © California African American Museum

  • Watts Riot (1966)

    Noah Purifoy

    Composed of actual burnt wood and other debris from the Watts Riots of 1965, this assemblage also has large abstract fields of color, primarily blues, greens, whites, and ochre. Raised letters in the center black field read "SIGNS," while raised letters in the round field in the lower left read "ALWAYS BE CAREFUL."


    Mixed media assemblage 52 x 37 in
    Bequest of Alfred C. Darby; Collection of Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum © California African American Museum

California African American Museum (CAAM)

Places of Validation, Art, and Progression

Places of Validation retraces the steps that African Americans took in creating a solid foundation for Black artists and their work to thrive in Los Angeles. Focusing on the period from 1945 to 1980, though looking back as far as the late 1920s, the exhibition and its catalogue draw upon stories that give intimate insight into the network of a Black art scene in Los Angeles. From the artists themselves and the validators (supporters, advocates, collectors, educators, historians) have come artworks, photographs, videos, catalogues, artifacts, announcements, flyers, sound recordings, and wifi components, which provide a comprehensive picture of the evolution of the visual arts in a Black Los Angeles, and a tribute to a people who supported the arts and were determined to see their artists succeed.
09/29/2011 – 04/12/2012
California African American Museum (CAAM)
600 State Drive
Exposition Park
Los Angeles, CA 90037