About the Artist

Richmond Barthé (1901-1989)

Richmond Barthé, born January 28, 1901 in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, was a sculptor with works spanning over sixty years. The collection on this website is a series of bronze sculptures inspired by themes of religion, sexuality, and race during the Harlem Renaissance. The works date back to 1929, the same year that Barthé moved to New York City and began his career with a focus on spirituality, philosophy, and ephemera.

This collection is a mass of creations that coincide with the epithets and artworks of legendary black makers from this time period- as they dealt with intense social realities such as Jim Crow, segregation, and post-war racism. His art is a response to the traumas and conflicts that the black community faced, however, his simultaneous inclusion of the LGBTQ+ perspective was a rarity in the art world during this era. His idiosyncrasy is seen through his inclusion of the black male nude in sculpture, as his artistic stylings were uncommon amidst the subject matter expressed by his contemporaries.