MS01.03.03.B01.F01.0001

July 22, 1974

Mrs. Jacob Lawrence
[Redacted info]

Dear Gwen:

I hope that your work is going well and that you
will allow me to prevail upon you for service on the
Advisory Board of the Amistad Art Project.

We anticipate having the Project ready for circulation
in the fall of 1975 but will need your expert
advice in bringing it into being. A brief description
follows:

The Amistad Art Project was organized on June 19,
1973 by art consultants from the United Church
of Christ and representatives from the Art Departments
of Fisk and Dillard universities, LeMoyne-
Owen, Houston-Tillotson, Talladega and Tougaloo
colleges as a special Bicentennial contribution
from the American Missionary Association. Plans
are underway to organize and mount a small but
comprehensive exhibition which will give a concise
picture of the Black man's contribution to
the Visual Arts from colonial times into this
decade. However, major emphasis will be placed
on the cultural contributions of the twentieth
century. A great portion of the project has
already been funded. We expect to borrow major
works by outstanding artists of African descent
from major museums and educational institutions
and mount them in a mobile unit which will serve
as an exhibition hall and stage for performances
in the related arts traveling to many towns and
villages where art treasures such as those suggested
here are rarely seen.

I hope that you will consent to serve on the Advisory
Board of this worthwhile project as I do not
see the task to be an arduous one since the committee
will not meet more than once a year. Your expenses