# 4748g - 2013 First-Class Forever Stamp - Modern Art in America: Aaron Douglas' "The Prodigal Son"

Issue Date: March 7, 2013
City: New York, NY

Quantity: 1,950,000
Printed By: Avery Dennison
Printing Method: Photogravure
Perforations: Serpentine Die Cut 10 1/2
Color: multicolored

Aaron Douglas’s painting The Prodigal Son is one of twelve featured on the Modern Art in America: 1913-1931 stamps.

 

The “Father of African American Arts,” Aaron Douglas refuted this title, saying “I am just a son of Africa, and paint for what inspires me.” 

 

Moving to New York City in 1925, Douglas (1899-1979) became one of the major figures in the Harlem Renaissance – an African-American creative movement. Within months of arriving there, he worked as an illustrator for the movement’s most prominent magazines. His graphic African- and Egyptian-inspired art soon caught the attention of W.E.B. DuBois, who had been in search of young artists like himself. Before long, Douglas was illustrating books, painting canvases, and most notably, creating vast murals. Moving to Tennessee in 1939, Douglas founded Fisk University’s Art Department and began exploring more traditional painting styles. 

 

Douglas’ works were a unique fusion of modernism and traditional African culture. Celebrating African-American diversity, his paintings showed men and women in a variety of settings, from rural and urban scenes to churches and nightclubs.

 

Among the many honors Douglas received in his life, he was invited by President John F. Kennedy to the Emancipation Proclamation centennial at the White House in 1963.