Essex Hemphill: Take care of your blessings includes the work of artists who knew and collaborated with the writer, performer, and activist during his life—one of these collaborations was with DC artist Joyce Wellman. In a 1988 interdisciplinary program, Hemphill performed his poem "Black Beans" accompanied by an image of Wellman's painting Someone Different. In the poem, Hemphill redefines wealth as a richness of love and desire. Much like Hemphill's writing, Wellman's body of work—a network of coded messages, hidden signs, and symbols—requires deciphering and participation. See Someone Different while listening to "Black Beans" in Essex Hemphill: Take care of your blessings at The Phillips Collection, now on view ▶️ https://bit.ly/4jVgCpg Quotes from exhibiton curator Camille Brown's essay "Essex Hemphill: Take care of your blessings." 🎨Joyce Wellman, Someone Different, 1987, Oil paint stick on paper drawing, 50 x 38 in., Courtesy of the artist. (fb)

We're continuing our deep dive into the Phillips's Library & Archives for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month to learn more about artists in our permanent collection! Carl Sadakichi Hartmann (November 8, 1867–November 22, 1944) was an American poet, novelist, playwright, and art critic. He wrote to our founder Duncan Phillips regularly between 1935 and 1940, sometimes sharing his writings and works of art along with requests for educational resources and financial support. Two of his pastels on paper are in the permanent collection: A Buddha in the Sky (currently on view) and Moonrise San Jacinto. A Japanese Print. In a letter dated October 15, 1938, Hartmann writes with gratitude for having received a copy of The Leadership of Giorgione (a 1937 Phillips Memorial Gallery publication). He states, "I never saw the close relationship of Giorgione and Titian so clearly, and your appreciation of the Storm over Castelfranco is inspiring even to an old artwrangler as I am." Included with his correspondence is a black-and-white photograph of Hartmann, captioned, "Sadakichi's shack 14 x 22, Sept 15, 1938." Hartmann, then in his early 70s, built a home on his daughter's ranch outside Banning, California, where he spent the rest of his life. Historic Phillips Collection publications such as The Leadership of Giorgione are available for reference in the library by appointment (archives@phillipscollection.org). #AsianAmericanandPacificIslanderHeritageMonth #AAPIHeritageMonth 🎨 Carl Sadakichi Hartmann, A Buddha in the Sky, not dated; Carl Sadakichi Hartmann, Moonrise San Jacinto. A Japanese Print, not dated; Letter from Carl Sadakichi Hartmann to Duncan Phillips, October 15, 1938; Photo of Carl Sadakichi Hartmann, dated September 15, 1938; Title page of The Leadership of Giorgione by Duncan Phillips, published 1937. (fb)