A Study of Negro Artists
A Study of Negro Artists is a silent film in black and white on four reels that was created in the 1930s to highlight the development of African-American fine arts. The film features many influential black artists associated with the Harlem Renaissance. The 37-minute motion picture was made by Jules V. D. Bucher.
A Study of Negro Artists is a silent film in black and white on four reels that was created in the 1930s to highlight the development of African-American fine arts. The film features many influential black artists associated with the Harlem Renaissance. The 37-minute motion picture was made by Jules V. D. Bucher.

Funding
The project was funded by the Harmon Foundation and screened at the New York Public Library to raise funds to save the Harlem Art Workshop.  In creating A Study of Negro Artists, the Harmon Foundation hoped to educate the American public about the rich African-American arts scene developing in New York City.

Significance
The film is an example of the New Negro Arts movement associated with the Harlem Renaissance. It also exemplifies the tendency to segregate artistic achievement according to perceived racial differences.Art critic John Ott has suggested that efforts by the Harmon Foundation of this kind "eclipses African American artistic endeavors with images of black menial employment."  According to Ott, the film implies that artistic work is a leisure activity, but synonymous with labor by focusing attention on the working bodies of the featured artists, rather than the products of their work. Inter-titles further this suggestion:
"Until recognition comes, the artist seeks a living wherever he can."
"The leisure thus gained leaves him free to work again for fame and recognition,"
"The Negro artist today must work with his hands to earn a living; his art is but a spare‐time activity."

Featured artists
James Latimer Allen
Charles Alston
William Ellisworth Artis
Richmond Barthé
Aaron Douglas
Robert S. Duncanson
Palmer Hayden
Malvin Gray Johnson
Sargent Claude Johnson
Lois Mailou Jones
Benjamin Spurgeon Kitchin
Richard William Lindsey
Susie Maribel McIver
Pastor Argudin y Pedroso
James A. Porter
Augusta Savage
Georgette Seabrooke
Arthur Alfonso Schomburg
Henry Ossawa Tanner
Hale A. Woodruff

References
External links
A Study of Negro Artists : Internet Archive