American Totem

American Totem is a 1960 oil on canvas black and white painting by Norman Lewis (1909-1979). Acquired by the Whitney Museum in 2018 it is the first work by Lewis to have entered the institution's permanent collection. It was included in The Whitney’s Collection: Selections from 1900 to 1965 which ran from June 28, 2019 until Nay 1, 2025.[1][2][3][4]

The work was executed as part of a group of black-and-white paintings by Lewis which examine the effects of the American civil rights movement.[5] The "Totem" articulated in the work is a Ku Klux Klan hood.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Norman Lewis | American Totem". whitney.org.
  2. ^ "Norman Lewis's American Totem, Whitney Museum's Newest Acquisition". Ideelart. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  3. ^ posts, Evan Malachosky View (June 28, 2019). "The Overlooked Art of Norman Lewis as Explained by Tarin M Fuller, Director of His Estate". COOL HUNTING®.
  4. ^ "The Whitney's Collection: Selections from 1900 to 1965". whitney.org.
  5. ^ "Whitney Museum Acquires Painting by African American Modernist Norman Lewis". Artforum. 2019-02-08. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  6. ^ "Whitney acquires Abstract Expressionist painting by Norman Lewis". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
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