Artist: Archibald Motley (1891 - 1980)
Nationality: American
Movement: Modern American School
Media: Painting
Influences:

Biography:
Archibald Motley Jr. labored in Chicago while teaching himself the fundamentals of painting and practicing his technique. His first solo exhibit came in 1928 in New York, and displayed his fascination with aspects of African American culture such as music, voodoo, and mysticism. After winning the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1929, he traveled and studied in Paris, where upon his return, he began painting scenes of nightlife and gambling in response to Prohibition. Despite his African American heritage and the rise of the Harlem Renaissance movement, Motley was a member of Ashcan school that did not devote itself to any ethnicity.

Artworks in Museum Collections: (93)
Click the artwork titles below to see actual examples of artwork or works of art relevant to works by Archibald Motley.

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Archibald Motley, Jr. - Nightlife 1943 oil on canvas The Art Institute of Chicago American
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Archibald J. Motley, Jr. - Mending Socks 1924 oil on canvas Ackland Art Museum American
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George Romney - Major-General Sir Archibald Campbell 1790-1792 oil on canvas National Gallery of Art British
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Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), 1786-91 Archibald Robertson (Scottish, 1765-1835)Ivory; Oval, 3 x 2 3/8 in.
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Guillaume-Philippe Benoist Archibald Campbell, Earl and Marquis of Argylll 18th century
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Ward, Leslie Matthew (Spy) Sir George Compton Archibald Arthur, Bart., "The Mile" from Vanity Fair, December 19, 1885 Lithograph 1885
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©Yousuf Karsh ; Yousuf Karsh, Canadian (born in Armenia) 1908 Grey Owl (Archibald Belaney) 1936
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Archibald Willard - Minnie Willard 1860's oil on canvas Cleveland Museum of Art American
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Anthony van Dyck, Flemish, 1599-1641 Peeter Symons Oil on canvas 114.6 x 95 cm (45
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Thomas Gainsborough, British, 1727-1788 Haymaker and Sleeping Girl (Mushroom Girl) late 1780s Oil on canvas
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Unidentified artist, British, mid-18th century Portrait of a Man Pastel on paper 54.6 x 45.7
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Stamp seal Near Eastern, Mesopotamian, Babylonian Neo-Babylonian Period, 625–539 B.C. Babylon Agate Legacy dimension: .26
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Relief of a Persian guard Near Eastern, Iranian, Persian Achaemenid Period reign of Xerxes, 486–464
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Apsaras (celestial figure) Chinese Six dynasties, Six dynasties period, 6th century A.D. China Limestone 70
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Formerly attributed to Zhang Dunli, Chinese, late 12th century The Nine Songs of Qu Yuan
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Cylinder Seal Near Eastern, Mesopotamian, Akkadian Akkadian Period 2334-2154 B.C. White limestone .27 x .17
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Cylinder seal Near Eastern, Mesopotamian Early Dynastic Period, 2900-2334 B.C. Sumeria Yellowish Limestone .19 x
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Cylinder seal Near Eastern, Mesopotamian Early Dynastic Period 2900-2334 B.C. Limestone | Brownish limestone .34
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Cylinder seal Near Eastern, Mesopotamian Early Dynastic Period, 2900-2334 B.C. Sumeria Serpentine .27 x .14
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Feitian Apsaras (flying celestial figure) Chinese Tang dynasty, Tang dynasty, 7th century A.D. China, Shanxi
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Feitian Apsaras (flying celestial figure) Chinese Tang dynasty, Tang dynasty, 7th century A.D. China, Shanxi
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Reclining Nude Young Woman, Half-Naked, Leaning Against a
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Shiva, Parvati, and their son Skanda (Somaskandamurti) Indian Chola period, about 11th century A.D. Southern
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Esto es la verdadero (This is the Truth)
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Yo lo vi. (I saw it); Fatales consequencias
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Por qué? (Why?); Fatales consequencias de la sangrienta
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 No hay que dar voces. (It"s no use
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Que locura! (What madness!); Fatales consequencias de la
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Las resultas. (The consequences); Fatales consequencias de la
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 No hay quien los socorra. (There is no
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 De qué sirve una taza? (Of what use
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Tambien esto. (This, too..); Fatales consequencias de la
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Infame provecho (Vile Advantage) (Disasters of War, unpublished
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Qué alborato es este? (What is this hubbub?);
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Lo merecia. (He deserved it); Fatales consequencias de
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Y esto tambien. (And this, too); Fatales consequencias
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Al cementerio. (To the cemetery); Fatales consequencias de
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Algún partido saca. (He makes some use of
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Si son de otro linage. (But they are
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Asi sucedió. (This is how it happened); Fatales
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Lo peor es pedir. (The worst is to
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Fuerte cosa es! (This is too much); Fatales
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Sanos y enfermos. (The Healthy and the Ill);
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Escapan entre las llamas. (They escape through the
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 No se puede saber por qué. (There is
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 No llegan á tiempo. (They do not arrive
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Tampoco. (Nor this); Fatales consequencias de la sangrienta
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Esto es malo. (This is bad); Fatales consequencias
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Se defiende bien. (He defends himself well); Fatales
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Tristes presentimientos de lo que ha de acontecer.
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Esto es peor. (This is worse); Fatales consequencias
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Las camas de la muerte. (The beds of
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 El buitre carnívoro. (The carnivorous vulture); Fatales consequencias
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Caridad de una muger. (A woman"s charity); Fatales
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Carretadas al cementerio. (Cartloads to the cemetery); Fatales
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Toda va revuelto. (Everything is topsy-turvy); Fatales consequencias
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Bárbaros! (Barbarians!); Fatales consequencias de la sangrienta guerra
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Murió la verdad. (Truth died); Fatales consequencias de
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Por una navaja. (For [carrying] a knife); Fatales
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Nada ello lo dice. (Nothing. It says as
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Esto es peor. (This is worse); Fatales consequencias
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Grande Hazaña! Con muertos! (Heroic feat! Against the
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Extraña devocion! (Strange devotion!); Fatales consequencias de la
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Cruel lástima.! (Cruel tale of woe.!); Fatales consequencias
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Que se rompe la cuerda. (The rope is
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Clamores en vano. (Vain laments); Fatales consequencias de
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 Si resucitará? (Will she rise again?); Fatales consequencias
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Spanish, 1746-1828 After Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish,
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Kouros (statue of a young male) torso Greek Archaic Period, about 560–550 B.C. Greece, Attica,
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Tomb relief of the Publius Gessius family Portraits Roman Late Republican Period about 50 B.C.

Artnews Articles and Exhibition Information: (4)
Click on any of the links below to read about artnews or exhibitions related to Motley

Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts: Cristobal Toral: Realist Figuration and Dream Images
Toral’s paintings pulsate with the soul of the venerable Spanish still-life tradition that emerged during the Golden Age and, with its austere materiality, endows the renewed gaze with elegance and symbolism. The seriousness of his compositions, w...
Norton Museum of Art: Jacob Lawrence: The Toussaint L'Ouverture Series
Born in 1917 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Jacob Lawrence was raised in Harlem where he not only witnessed the poverty and prejudice that most African-Americans faced in th...
ZONE: Chelsea, Center for the Arts: Molly Davies: Retrospective of Video Installation Works
Ms. Davies work explores movement of the performing body and film, distilling the everyday to suggest undercurrents of desire, isolation and joy.  Juxtaposing images to create layers of meaning, her work immerses the viewer into striking, poetic w...
Columbus Museum of Art: Illusions of Eden: Visions of the American Heartland
The exhibition and its national tour are sponsored by Philip Morris Companies Inc. Illusions of Eden is one component of The Heartland Project, a series of three traveling museum exhibitions and an interactive website that will evaluate t...

Further Artwork and Information:

Archibald Motley Online
Archibald J. Motley Jr - Blues
Archibald Motley (1891 - 1980) Biography, Artwork Images, Exhibitions, Reviews
African American World . Arts & Culture . Art Focus | PBS
Archibald Motley Jr. Prints, Posters and Frames at Art.com
Issues to Consider
Archibald Motley - Artist Painting Prices, Art Appraisal, Artist Paintings [AskART.com]
Archibald Motley, Jr.
Archibald Motley
Archibald Motley Poster

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