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Highlights

Bisa Butler: The Playlist

Artist Bisa Butler and her husband, a longtime DJ, chose this selection of songs to pair with each of her quilts as well as other works from the museum’s collection, all of which are on view in Bisa Butler: Portraits.

Find the full Spotify playlist here.

A vibrant quilt depicting seven schoolchildren dressed in many different colors. The children stand together in a group, and one boy, a member of the Safety Patrol, stands in front with his arms outstretched in a protective gesture. — The Safety Patrol, 2018

Bisa Butler. Cavigga Family Trust Foundation. © Bisa Butler

Anaya with Oranges, 2017

Bisa Butler. Dimmitt Davies Collection. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler

A vibrant quilt depicts four young girls in party dresses, white socks, and black Mary Janes. The girl on the far left is turned to the side, her dress twisting and flaring as she moves. — Four Little Girls, September 15, 1963, 2018

Bisa Butler. Michelle and Pete Scantland. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler

Quilted portrait of a mother and daughter, both African American. The daughter stands slightly in front of the mother, and they both look into the distance. They wear vibrantly colored and patterned clothing—orange, purple, yellow, lime green. On a gray background are sewn words that seem to be from a letter from daughter to mother expressing love, referencing the title of the work, "Dear Mama." — Dear Mama, 2019

Bisa Butler. Collection of Scott and Cissy Wolfe. © Bisa Butler. Photo by Margaret Fox

Cool-toned paper collage of a number of black figures in a room. In the left foreground, a small, female figure spins wool; behind her a larger female figure works an upright loom. A male figure strides across the frame. Three male figures stand to the side, and a figure carrying a knife enters the room through a doorway in the back. A large window in the background frames a mountainous island and a ship with white sails. — The Return of Odysseus (Homage to Pinturicchio and Benin), 1977

Romare Howard Bearden

A vibrantly colored and patterned quilt depicts a young boy, sitting with one leg dangling down and the other leg bent in front of him. An elbow rest on the bent leg, while the other arm balances his weight on the seat. He looks directly at the viewer, his eyebrows furrowed. — Mannish Boy, 2018

Bisa Butler. Private collection. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler

0110mfox2020 Edit Press — The Princess, 2018

Bisa Butler. Collection of Bob and Jane Clark. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler

0208mfox2020 Edit — Kindred, 2019

Bisa Butler. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust through the George H. and Elizabeth O. Davis Fund, 2019.45. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler

A vibrantly colored and patterned quilt depicts a family in old-fashioned dress clothes. The mother and father stand in the middle, both wearing hats, the father holds a cane. The two young boys flank them. — Black Star Family, First Class Tickets to Liberia, 2018

Bisa Butler. Private collection, courtesy of William Shearburn Gallery. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler

A vibrantly colored and patterned quilt depicts a man in a three-piece suit and bowler hat, standing with one hand in his pocket, the other holding a newspaper under his arm., — Africa, the Land of Hope and Promise for Negro Peoples of the World, 2020

Bisa Butler. Private collection. Image courtesy of Claire Oliver Gallery. © Bisa Butler

A vibrantly colored and patterned quilt depicts a woman in a long dress with long sleeves, sitting facing the viewer. She has one hand on her knee, the other rests on the chair back behind her. — Asantewa, 2020

Bisa Butler. Private collection. Image courtesy of Claire Oliver Gallery. © Bisa Butler

A vibrantly colored and patterned quilt depicts a family in old-fashioned dress clothes. The mother and father stand shoulder to shoulder with a tiny young girl tucked in front of her father's legs. — The Family, 2017

Bisa Butler. Michelle and Pete Scantland. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler

Black-and-white photograph of a seated black man who is receiving medical care from two other individuals. The man has an anguished expression, with his mouth open in pain, and he wears a button-up shirt that is spattered with blood. The brown-skinned person on the man's right, whose back is to the camera, tends to the man's right eye. On the left a white-skinned person reaches into the frame, and holds the man's head steady. — Battered Man, 1948

Gordon Parks

A work made of gelatin silver print. — Untitled (New York, Harlem), from the series “A Man Becomes Invisible” (1952), 1952

Gordon Parks

A work made of gelatin silver print. — Malcolm X at Rally, Chicago, Illinois, from the series “Chicago Muslim Story” (1963), 1963

Gordon Parks

A work made of gelatin silver print. — Pastor Ledbetter, Chicago, Illinois, from the series “Metropolitan Baptist Church” (1953), 1953

Gordon Parks

A vibrant quilt shows a man sitting with his legs crossed, looking confidently at the viewer. His figure and clothes are composed of many brilliantly colored and patterned fabrics. — I Am Not Your Negro, 2019

Bisa Butler. Claire Oliver and Ian Rubinstein. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler

An oil painting of a colorful female face on a white background. The woman wears glasses and large, hoop earrings, and is rendered in blue, red, yellow, and purples shades that create a kaleidoscopic effect. — Towards Identity, 1970

Nelson Stevens

A quilt depicts a man and woman from the waist up, their heads resting together, framed by a flowered border. — Francis and Violette, 2001

Bisa Butler. Collection of Zachary Yamba. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler

A work made of photostat print. — The Street, 1964

Romare Howard Bearden

One Vote Can Change the World, 2008

Bisa Butler. Collection of Zachary Yamba. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler

Color print of ten African American people raising their fists. They stand in two diagonal lines that converge in the middle. In the background, "unite" is repeated diagonally in yellow, purple, blue, and red block letters. — Unite (AfriCOBRA), 1971

Barbara Jones

Vibrantly colorful quilted portrait of a group of young black men wearing suits and hats. They stand in a line, with one boy at the front. — Southside Sunday Morning, 2018

Bisa Butler. Private collection. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler

Colorful quilt depicting four African American women sitting together. They wear patterned dresses and hats and look out decisively. — I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 2019

Bisa Butler. Minneapolis Institute of Art, promised gift on long-term loan from a private collection. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler

A vibrant quilt shows three women standing facing each talking. The figures and their clothing—dresses and hats—are composed are multiple brightly colored and variously patterned fabrics. — The Tea, 2017

Bisa Butler. Collection of Bonnie Lautenberg. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler

A vibrantly colored and patterned quilt depicts a man in a three-piece suit and cap, sitting looking at the viewer. He has just lit a cigarette and holds the match in his hand. — A Man’s Worth, 2019

Bisa Butler. Private collection. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler

A vibrantly colored and patterned quilt depicts four men in suits. Three are in the background in various states of movement; one in the foreground is seen from the waist up. He crosses his arms in front of his chest and his head is cocked to the side. — Les Sapeurs, 2018

Bisa Butler. Claire Oliver and Ian Rubinstein. Photo by Ian Rubinstein. © Bisa Butler

The Mighty Gents, 2018

Bisa Butler. Beth Rudin DeWoody. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler

A quilt of vibrant, multicolored patterned fabrics features a Black woman in a turquoise top hat and fitted waistcoat staring directly at the viewer against a purple patterned background with blue trees and the Taj Mahal. — The Equestrian, 2019

Bisa Butler. Courtesy of Love, Luck & Faith Foundation. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler

A square-shape textile with a dual multicolor border features a painted five-by-four grid of images with the repeated face of a Black woman with short hair, Bessie Smith. Her face appears blue in each instance, while the outline of her facial features, her hair, and clothing alternate colors in varying shades of yellow and orange. The background of each square likewise alternates between shades of blue and green, some with an influx of red. — American Collection #5: Bessie’s Blues, January 19, 1997

Faith Ringgold

A vibrantly colored and patterned quilt depicts three women from the hips up. The central figure looks directly at the viewer. The two women on her sides appear to be helping her in the final stages of getting dressed and adjust a shawl over her head. — Survivor, 2018

Bisa Butler. Collection of Audry X. Casusol. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler

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