Bringing together artists across generations and styles, the special exhibition Silver Linings: Celebrating the Spelman Art Collection makes the final stop of its cross-country tour at the Hunter Museum of American Art on Friday, September 19.
Join them for the opening celebration on Thursday, September 18 at 6:00 p.m. with a cultural performance that celebrates Black heritage as well as an in-gallery talk by Executive Director of the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art Dr. Liz Andrews.
Featuring more than 40 dynamic works, Silver Linings is arranged into five themes — Spiral Group (a New York-based Black artists collective active in the 1960s), abstraction, early figuration, contemporary photography, and contemporary figuration—each an invitation to explore how Black artists are essential to American art’s evolution. Featured artists include:
- Romare Bearden, celebrated for his vibrant, storytelling collages that capture the essence of Black American life
- Elizabeth Catlett, whose powerful sculptures and prints depict the strength and dignity of Black women
- Henry Ossawa Tanner, a pivotal figure in American art history, whose paintings broke racial and religious barriers internationally
- Sam Gilliam, an innovator in abstract art, admired for his draped and suspended canvases that challenge traditional painting
- Lorna Simpson and Carrie Mae Weems, contemporary photography masters whose thought-provoking works explore identity, history, and representation with unparalleled depth
- Also on view will be works by Emma Amos, Benny Andrews, Firelei Báez, Herman “Kofi” Bailey, Betty Blayton, Beverly Buchanan, Selma Burke, Floyd Coleman, Renee Cox, Myra Greene, Glenn Ligon, Howardena Pindell, Lucille Malkia Roberts, Deborah Roberts, Nellie Mae Rowe, Lina Iris Viktor, Faith Ringgold, and Hale Woodruff.
The Spelman College Museum of Fine Art was founded in 1996, and the museum's mission is to uplift art by and about women of the African diaspora. The college began collecting objects in 1899, less than 20 years after the establishment of Spelman College.
Thanks to the generous support of Art Bridges, the Hunter Museum is proud to celebrate the contributions of these significant artists and present this nationally touring exhibition to Chattanooga audiences.
Silver Linings will be on view through Friday, January 12, 2026, with a full lineup of complementary programs, including live performances by local creatives, family events, hands-on workshops, and a gallery talk.
Silver Linings: Celebrating the Spelman Art Collection is organized by Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta, Georgia. The exhibition is curated by Liz Andrews and Karen Comer Lowe with initial contributions from Anne Collins Smith.
Learn more at huntermuseum.org/exhibition/silver-linings-celebrating-the-spelman-art-collection