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 to May 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 July 7, 2025.
  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. February 8, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Whitney acquires Abstract Expressionist painting by Norman Lewis". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. February 7, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
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