ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02321-2ISBN-10: 0-547-02321-9

10321781032178

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

by Deborah Akers

RB

Level: R

DRA: 40Social StudiesStrategy:Visualize

Word Count: 1,005

4.2.8 Build Vocabulary

4_023212_BL_VRSE_CVR_L08_ROMARE.indd 1-2 5/19/10 9:25:52 PM

ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: Susan Carlson

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS: Cover Summertime, 1967, Romare Bearden. Collage of paper and synthetic polymer paint on compostion board. 56 x 44; tp Blue Lady, 1955, Romare Bearden. Oil on canvas. 40 x 31; 3 Family, 1986, Romare Bearden. Collage on wood. 28 x 20; 5 AP Photo/F. Ruesch; 6 Bettmann/Corbis; 7 Buddy Jenssen/Super Stock; 9 The Visitation, 1942, Romare Bearden. Oil. 30 x 47; 11 ArenaPal/Topham/The Image Works; 12 Summertime, 1967, Romare Bearden. Collage of paper and synthetic polymer paint on compostion board. 56 x 44; 13 Photodisc/SuperStock; 14 Blue Lady, 1955, Romare Bearden. Oil on canvas. 40 x 31.

All art by Romare Bearden is Romare Bearden Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. With the exception of nonprofit transcription into Braille, Houghton Mifflin is not authorized to grant permission for further uses of this work. Permission must be obtained from the individual copyright owner as identified herein. Address requests for permission to make copies of Houghton Mifflin material to School Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Company, 222 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116.

Printed in China

ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02321-2ISBN-10: 0-547-02321-9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 RRD 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08

by Deborah Akers

RB

Table of ContentsFamily 3

19111921: Family Travels 4

19221932: An Artist Begins 6

19321942: Searching for a Voice 8

19421952: Exploring New Horizons 10

19521962: Listen to the Music 11

19621988: Piecing It Together 12

An Accomplished Life 14

Family can tell you a lot about the life of Romare Bearden.

3

FamilyLook carefully at this picture. It is a portrait

of a family, gathered to welcome a new baby.

At first glance, this picture looks as if it

were painted. But when you look more closely,

you will discover that the rich, glorious colors

used by the artist actually come from pasted

pieces of paper. The picture is called Family.

Like Romare Bearden, the artist who

created the piece, Family is a colorful

combination of many

styles and influences.

Many African Americans moved to neighborhoods like Harlem, in New York City.

4

19111921:Family Travels

Romare Bearden was born in North

Carolina in 1911. When he was three years old,

his family decided to move to New York City.

During that time, many African American

families were moving

from the South to northern

cities like New York.

They wanted to escape

segregation and find work.

The laws in the South had

ruined many lives, and

many people were ready

for a fresh start.Manhattan

Harlem

EastHarlem

Bronx

Brooklyn

Hudson River

Queens

NewJersey

0 1mile

FINALRomare BeardenHarlem Today#4_xxxxxxVR2_3BL-ROMARE_01V

Sue Carlson609 971 6828

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When creating his art, Romare would often draw from his childhood experiences.

5

During his childhood, Romare made many

visits to his grandparents home in North

Carolina. These visits gave him many rich

stories and pictures of life in the South that he

would later use in his art.

Romares grandparents later moved to

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and he visited them

there. In Pittsburgh, he saw another side of

life. Rather than barns and farmland, he saw

trains streak by

crowded apartment

buildings.

Living in Harlem gave Romare many ideas for his art.

6

19221932:An Artist Begins

Romares life in Harlem also gave him

ideas. In the 1920s, Harlem had become a

center for artists, musicians, and writers.

This exciting time became known as the

Harlem Renaissance. The Bearden home was a

gathering place for artists and writers.

In 1926, Romare had his first art lesson

from a neighbor named Eugene Baily. He also

hung around the studio of a friend who was

a sculptor.

Romare took many art classes in college.

7

In 1929, Romare began his college studies.

Though he majored in education, he also was

influenced by many African American artists.

He became involved in many art and social

groups and even joined a baseball team!

During his college years, Romare also

found the time to take several art classes at

night. He studied drawing and painting,

working hard to build his skills as an artist.

8

19321942: Searching for a Voice

During college, Romare was concerned

about the rights of African Americans. He

drew political cartoons for several student

newspapers in order to share his feelings.

In 1935, after graduating from New York

University, Romare got a job as a social worker.

He worked with people who had recently

immigrated to the New York area. Even with a

busy schedule, Romare continued to create art

during his free time.

Starting in 1935, Romare sent cartoons to the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper every week for two years. The newspaper was first published in 1892 by a former slave.

Romare painted stories about his past.

9

Romare had his first solo art show in

Harlem in 1940. At the time, he was trying out

many different styles. For example, sometimes

he would model a piece after a painting by

Pablo Picasso, one of his favorite artists.

The show also included paintings based on

Romares experiences in New York, and from

his childhood. Romare was starting to find his

style as an artist.

10

19421952:Exploring New Horizons In the 1940s, Romare

also began writing,

and he published

several books and

articles. In 1950, Romare

decided to take some

time off from work to

focus on his art. He went to Paris and attended a

famous art school called the Sorbonne Institute.

At the Sorbonne, he studied artistic styles from

all over the world and met many famous artists.

These colorful experiences were like a feast that

fed Romares appetite for art.

Romare served in the United States Army during World War II. Because of this, the government paid for his studies at the Sorbonne.

10

Romare wrote jazz songs during the 1950s.

11

19521962: Listen to the Music

In the 1950s, Romare began to write music.

He published several jazz songs that were

performed by well-known singers. Music had

always been a big part of Romares life.

In 1954, Romare married Nanette Rohan, a

dancer who owned a dance company. Romare

designed costumes and sets for many of her

groups performances. This led him to work

with other dance companies.

11

Collage was an exciting new style for Romare.

12

19621988:Piecing It Together

Romare started to create new images by

piecing together torn or cut photographs,

newspapers, or other printed material.

This new collage style was a combination

of several images yanked from many different

places that he then pasted onto a board.

Sometimes Romare smeared the collage with

a stroke of paint.

This art form

that Romare began

later in life is what

he is best known

for today.

12

St. Martin is a beautiful island.

13

After Romare retired from his social

work job in 1969, he was busier than ever. He

showed his paintings, drawings, and collages

in galleries, and still found time for art and

community organizations.

In 1972, he and Nanette built a house on the

Caribbean island of St. Martin, where Nanette

had grown up. They lived there part-time for

many years. The bright colors of the island

inspired many new pieces of Romares art.

13

Romare never stopped exploring new artistic styles.

14

An Accomplished LifeRomare Bearden died in 1988. Looking back

over his life, it is not surprising that Romare

grew up to use so many different types of art

to tell the story of his life. It is truly amazing

how just one man was able to create so many

memorable paintings, collages, and even

pieces of music. Romare must have filled every

minute of his day with art!

HMRLR_GO_Tmap.eps

RespondingTARGET VOCABULARY Word Builder The

word ruined has the same meaning as the word wrecked. What are some other pairs of words that have the same meaning? Copy and complete the chart below.

Write About It

Text to Self What kind of art do you enjoy? Write a paragraph describing a painting, sculpture, or drawing that you like. Briefly describe the type of art form as well as the materials that were used to create it. Use one word from the Word Builder.

15

Word 1 Word 2

ruined

beautiful

?

wrecked

pretty

?

TARGET VOCABULARY

TARGET STRATEGY Visualize Use text details to form pictures in your mind of what you are reading.

concernedfeastgloriousmodelruined

schedulesmearedstreakstudioyanked

What vocabulary word rhymes with the part of the body a woodpecker uses to peck a tree with?

16

ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02321-2ISBN-10: 0-547-02321-9

10321781032178

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

by Deborah Akers

RB

Level: R

DRA: 40Social StudiesStrategy:Visualize

Word Count: 1,005

4.2.8 Build Vocabulary

4_023212_BL_VRSE_CVR_L08_ROMARE.indd 1-2 5/19/10 9:25:52 PM