Yesterday’s Dreams Are Real: Collecting Black Art and The Legacy of Lewis Tanner Moore

Document Type

Group Exhibition

Role

Artist

Publisher

Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA, February 15 to July 27, 2025

Publication Date

2-15-2025

Abstract

This exhibition celebrates the legacy of Lewis Tanner Moore (1953-2024), who championed the work of Black artists throughout his life, challenging institutions like the Michener Art Museum to prioritize diversity in their collecting and exhibition practices. The great nephew of the nineteenth-century painter Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937), Moore built a collection of hundreds of artworks over four decades. His love for the arts started in high school when he was struck by the absence of African American artists in his art history textbook at Chestnut Hill Academy. This realization spurred him to organize an exhibition at the school in 1969, marking the beginning of his lifelong commitment to elevating Black voices in the art world. He subsequently curated or contributed to dozens of museum and gallery exhibitions. Thanks to Moore’s guidance and encouragement, the Michener has added sixty-five artworks by artists of color to its collection in the past five years. Featuring work by Barbara Bullock, James Brantley, Moe Brooker, Selma Burke, Donald Camp, Syd Carpenter, Allan Freelon, Paul Keene, Louis B. Sloan, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Ellen Powell Tiberino, and others from the collections of Moore and the Michener Art Museum, this exhibition honors Moore’s impact on the museum and highlights artists who helped shaped the Delaware Valley’s creative community. This exhibition is supported by a grant from The Sunshine Fund, the 35th Anniversary Initiative, Eiseman Construction, Inc. and Michener Art Museum’s Corporate Business Partners. Additional support is provided by Nancy Barness, and Molli and Joe Conti. Printed catalog for the exhibition was published.

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