Lot 195: Aaron Douglas Charcoal Drawing, Tuskegee Institute

Aaron Douglas (American, 1899-1979) charcoal architectural drawing depicting Tuskegee University's Carnegie Hall, which served as the Alabama school's first library. Signed "Aaron Douglas" lower left and dated Feb. 17, 1938. Framed under glass in an ebonized frame with brown mat. Sight: 13 1/2" square. Frame: 18" H x 17" W. Note: Douglas was at Tuskegee in 1938 thanks to a Julius Rosenwald Foundation fellowship, which also funded brief residencies at Dillard University and Fisk University. Tuskegee Institute, later Tuskegee University, is a private, historically black university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded in 1881 by Lewis Adams and Booker T. Washington with help from the Alabama legislature through funding from two politicians seeking black votes. Carnegie Hall was sited on Jan. 1, 1901 (ironically, the very year that Alabama's new constitution disenfranchised most black citizens) and erected using bricks fired by the students themselves. The building was designed by architect Robert R. Taylor and funded by the Carnegie Library program and remains a landmark on the school's campus.

CONDITION: Paper is taped to mat. Significant acid burn to paper, with two white spots upper left. Some light creasing and buckling to paper. Wear to frame.