Aaron Douglas’s works are some of the most prominent pieces of the Harlem Renaissance (1918- mid 1930s). Aaron Douglas was so crucial to the Harlem Renaissance movement for a series of reasons, including, but not limited to the manner in which he used European Modernism, specifically Cubism, and a Marxist format with African influences to create a unique style of art. For many artists, their pieces give life to their vision, which is true for Douglas as well. However, his pieces served the greater purpose to highlight the struggles of being Black during this time period which he produced in a way that everyone could see them.  His work as an artist and teacher was very influential and has come to characterize the Harlem Renaissance. Aaron Douglas fused a modernist Deco style that frequently referenced African art with a Marxist approach to the subject matter to make powerful social justice statements.

Douglas combined Marxist philosophy and Cubist style to help him gain popularity across cultural and demographic divides to increase his popularity and promote social justice messages. To increase the viewership of his art,  Douglas sold art to Harpers and Vanity Fair, which were predominately White publications [1]. This fed a capitalist market, and furthered White profit off of Black art, but at the same time, it brought his art into a larger American domain, which would ultimately bring it to a greater prominence.  Later in his life, Douglas won a scholarship to work with Winold Reiss. Winold inspired Douglas to draw inspiration not only from his personal experience, which is clearly depicted in much of his work, but also to draw from his ancestral heritage. In contrast with many  “white ‘knowledge purveyors’ [who]typically assume that Africa is comprised of simple societies, populated by backward people with naïve ideas and beliefs that are transparently obvious”, Reiss promoted Douglas’s vision of African American heritage.  Around 1925, Aaron Douglas began to make a name for himself, and he was commissioned by the NAACP and the national urban league to create his work the new Negro for art. In 1926, he co-founded the magazine Fire. Douglas’s intention was to "to express ourselves freely and independently - without interference from old heads, white or Negro," and "to burn up a lot of the old, dead conventional Negro-white ideas of the past ... into a realization of the existence of the younger Negro writers and artists, and provide us with an outlet for publication." Ironically, many did not understand his intention and there was only one publication because the magazine was accused of promoting racist stereotypes.

The painting Song of the Towers is a powerful painting with Cubist influences and a strong message about the African American diaspora. The work Song of the Towers is a “Harlem Renaissance oil on canvas and tempera painting created by Aaron Douglas in 1966” ad this work was part of the new Negro movement in the Harlem Renaissance. In this work Douglas uses Cubism and inspiration from his African heritage to tie his art with a message for the masses. At the center of the painting there are three clear concentric circles moving outwards. The closer you look to the center circle the lighter and brighter the paint becomes, until you reach the center where  one sees a proud, strong looking, simplistic figure of a black male holding a saxophone bathed in golden light with the Statue of Liberty directly behind it.  At the center of the painting, there are 3 clear concentric circles moving into the center.  This ingenious way of incorporating  Cubism instantly creates focal points for the observer. These focal points are all emotional, moving messages and are the reason for his paintings. Douglas used “a narrow range of colors” sticking primarily with whites, blacks, browns, yellow and gray. The colors in this piece range from a golden light a shades of yellow with an ominous greenish smoke. He incorporates the darkest brown at the edges, lightening it toward the middle incorporating all varieties of skin tones. His choice in color is a reference to the one-drop rule, in which a person was considered to be of African descent if they had one drop of African blood. It is also representative of the inspiration he drew from his African heritage. The primary colors in Western society are red, yellow and blue but the primary colors in Africa are red, white and black. He used a “narrow range of colors and  “integrated the modern style of Cubism to create focal points in his painting to create emotional tones.  The saxophonist stands on gear, which represents the African American diaspora  from rural southern living to urban, northern jobs. The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of constant fight African Americans have to fight even after abolition. The United States is supposed to represent the home of the free, but it is only free for those in power. The Statue of Liberty represents freedom for the masses of white immigrants, who may have been discriminated against for a time, but their white status brought them eventual privilege. For African Americans it represented exclusion, not the American Dream.

As part of the “New Negro” movement, which was an organization founded “to counteract typically negative racial narrative” Douglas incorporated character depictions with African American identities into Song of the Towers.  There is another darker brown, male figure on the gear behind the saxophonist. He carries a lightly colored briefcase, or suitcase. One can see the cuff of his pants look torn, unhemmed and to not fit him particularly well. On the other hand, the briefcase he is holding looks shiny and new representing the possibilities the North offered. This represents “retaliation against White dominance and racial violence, mass migration of African-Americans from rural areas to urban centers, and increased militancy as well as national pride on the part of African Americans who participated in the First World War.” There is an ominous black hand reaching toward the man, representing the fear and possibility of being returned to the South and being subjected to the life they had. The African art ideal is clear in this piece, as “art communicates who people are, what they believe in, and how they navigate their lives”. In the lower left corner is another outline of a male with one hand over his head. He is not on the cog, moving toward the North, the light and opportunity. He shows the sadness of those left behind, who do not have the opportunity to leave. Perhaps even those who never were able to leave slavery and oppression. From the Marxist point of view, it echoes the view that art is only as powerful as its meaning in the context of society and that the social function of art changes with time. The smoke stacks are a representation of the industrial revolution that African American migrated into and the industry they promoted. The skyscrapers represent the endless opportunities in front of them. The variation in color of the skyscrapers represents the variation of color of those who are all African Americans.  The painting Song of the Towers was hugely influential to the Harlem Renaissance, as it depicted images that are counter to negative racial theory. 


Aspects of Negro Life, a four panel mural finished in 1934, was painted in Douglas’s unique mix of Cubist, African and Marxist style and portrays a message of social justice and equity. The piece was funded by Works Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), and is displayed at the “ Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture” and “was the 135th Street branch of The New York Public Library.” According to Marxist theory, many artists must choose between polluting their art for money or living a life of near poverty to support their vision. Yet, Douglas was able to gain public money to support this piece of work, and have it be a  “galvanizing, a force for social progress”. The mural as a medium is designed to be viewed by society at large. With a mural in a public place there is no discrimination as to who can see it and enjoy the work. As William Morris said,  ‘I do not want art for a few; any more than education for a few; or freedom for a few...’. This sentiment clearly echoes one of  Douglas’s motivations for painting this mural. High art is often for the elite, yet the function of a mural is to eliminate class because the art itself cannot be bought and privately owned; it is for the people. At the center of the picture is saxophonist  “Standing on the wheel of life…[, which] expresses the creativity of the 1920s and the freedom it afforded the ‘New Negro.'”  Douglas was clearly inspired by his move to New York City where he felt that  “the fact that black people were in charge of things and here was a black city and here was a situation that was eventually to be the center for the great in American Culture." The move to New York helped him become a voice for the “New Negro” movement. 

Similar to Song of the Tower, Aspects of Negro Life Douglas uses African art influences combined with Cubism and Marxist theory to bring light to the history of African Americans and their fight for equality. Aspects of Negro Life also uses concentric circles getting brighter the closer to the center circle they are. In this painting though there are two sets of concentric circles, the smallest circle in each focusing on a different man’s hand two clear leaders. The mural clearly shows influences from “African sculpture, jazz music, dance, and abstract geometric forms.” The man in the middle of the painting standing above the rest of the people is pointing to what could be the White House which is representative of a clear goal. In addition, this echoes his personal goal of leaving Lincoln High School, where he was only 1 of 2 Black teachers. He stated this “is not the way the world is. There are other places where I can try to be what I believe I can be, where I can achieve free from the petty irritations of color restrictions. I've got to go, even if I have to sweep floors for a living." Douglas’s restlessness led him to creating a mural which echoes his journey from constriction based on race to a new freedom in New York.  This painting has a timeline at the bottom. In the  foreground of the painting, one can see slaves picking cotton.  It depicts slavery, yet just above that, people are uniting, and above, people taking action and above that, they are affecting governmental policy. In this part of the mural, one can see the African art influence through the “clarity of form and detail, complexity of composition, balance and symmetry, smoothness of finish” On the left side of the painting, one can faintly make out shapes of horses with riders wearing  pointy hoods. One can  assume this is the Ku Klux Klan. In Marxist theory, one can never see art the way it was at production because a person will not really understand historical context. Thus, Douglas includes events vital to understanding African Americans at this time and into the future. This part of the painting is a tribute to the people that endured the evil done by the Klan. On the far right side of the painting, one can see what appears to be a woman dancing and a man playing a trumpet. The figures are “exceptionally important in African art is that the aesthetic scheme affirms the vital importance of creativity in reflective thinking and production of forms. "The flow and movement of the figures shows the vitality of them as humans. The people in this painting are all reduced to their simplest form, simple, yet bold shapes that clearly represent the human form. While most of the characters in this picture are tan, maroon or brown, the majority of them are Black. Once again this may encompass the many different skin tones and reference the one drop rule. On either side of the White House there are soldiers which represent the Civil War. Aaron Douglas used a typically African color scheme utilizing browns and  maroons and veering away from a lot of yellow or blue paint, which are more typical of European artists. 

Douglas seamlessly combined aspects of Cubism and Marxist with African art to create a new art form as seen in Song of the Tower and Aspects of Negro Life.  Douglas felt passionate about making his art accessible to everyone, which is vital in Marxist theory. While Douglas incorporated sophisticated artistic ideas the demographic he intended to show his art was the public. His art was politically charged and provocative, it was to evoke new ideas, disturb personal morality and move the masses. Yet, for many artists, including Douglas, one of the downfalls of high fashion art is the sale of it in the demographic who buys it. As a less wealthy artist growing up, Douglas did not want his paintings to be sold to the highest bidder and put in a private collection later to be resold and make other old white men more money. So instead of doing this, he sacrificed much of the money he would make to be a political activist to fight against the art connoisseur market and to contest these art critics who believe they are the end all be all of art. Douglas’s  work had a political message for the masses and Douglas did everything in his power to get his work to the people so his message could be heard. As Marx would say, “The object of art, like any other product, creates an artistic and beauty-enjoying public. Production thus produces not only an object for the individual, but also an individual for the object.” He used Art Deco to bridge the wealthy and educated with inspiration from African heritage and simplification of the human form and bold bright geometric shapes and designs to make his art accessible to everyone. Through his art,  Douglas worked tirelessly to counteract  the race theory in art which theorizes that “Africans are at the lowest rung of the human evolutionary ladder, and (2) Africans do not conceptually distinguish between the category of art and the category of artifact.” He believed that art is like education; it is a weapon if it is accessible to everyone. Douglas's abstract, and Cubist nature allowed him to reduce the people in his works to basic shapes that do not have associations or characteristics; they are just people. The use of Cubism served to “clear away some of the debris of stereotypic detail and racial caricature attached to the depiction of blackness.” Thus, he was able to have images of people that on many levels would be recognizable to African Americans, yet also appeal to the White public. The ability to blur human images connects all viewers to the subject matter and promotes understanding. Douglas will forever be remembered as a voice during the Harlem Renaissance and for social justice. 

[1] Alexandra Duncan, “Aaron Douglas Artist Overview and Analysis,” The Art Story (The Art Story, January 14, 2019), https://www.theartstory.org/artist/douglas-aaron/artworks/.
[2] Nkiru Nzegwu, “African Art in Deep Time: De‐race‐ing Aesthetics and De‐racializing Visual Art: Nzegwu”. African Art in Deep Time, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Volume 77, Issue 4, October 2019, Pages 367–378, https://doi.org/10.1111/jaac.12674
[3] Duncan, “Aaron Douglas Artist Overview”.
[4] “Song of the Towers,” Obelisk Art History, LLC, 2021, https://arthistoryproject.com/artists/aaron-douglas/song-of-the-towers/
[5] Duncan, “Aaron Douglas Artist Overview”.
[6] Duncan, “Aaron Douglas Artist Overview”.
[7] Duncan, “Aaron Douglas Artist Overview”.
[8] Duncan, “Aaron Douglas Artist Overview”.
[9] Nzegwu, “African Art in Deep Time”.
[10] Richard Clarke, “What Do Marxists Have to Say about Art?,” Culture Matters, October 14, 2017, https://www.culturematters.org.uk/index.php/culture/theory/item/2626-what-do-marxists-have-to-say-about-art.
[11] “Schomburg Center: Douglas Murals - New York NY,” Living New Deal (Schomburg Center, April 20, 2016), https://livingnewdeal.org/projects/schomburg-center-douglas-murals-new-york-ny/.
[12] Clarke, “What Do Marxists Have to Say about Art?”
[13] “Schomburg Center: Douglas Murals”
[14] Duncan, “Aaron Douglas Artist Overview”.
[15] “Schomburg Center: Douglas Murals”
[16] Duncan, “Aaron Douglas Artist Overview”.
[17] Susan M. Vogel, African Aesthetics, New York: Center for African Art, 1986
[18] Clarke, “What Do Marxists Have to Say about Art?”
[19] Nzegwu, “African Art in Deep Time”.
[20] Clarke, “What Do Marxists Have to Say about Art?”
[21] Clarke, “What Do Marxists Have to Say about Art?”
[22] Nzegwu, “African Art in Deep Time”
[23] AudreyThompson, "Great Plains Pragmatist: Aaron Douglas and the Art of Social Protest" (2000). Great Plains Quarterly, 317.