Beverly McIver "Pretty Is…A Little Black Girl" (2002)

About Auction

Live

Exceptional Finds | Ancient, Ethno, Fine Art

By Artemis Fine Arts

Mar 20, 2025

Set Reminder 2025-03-20 10:00:00 2025-03-20 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Finds | Ancient, Ethno, Fine Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-finds-ancient-ethno-fine-art-18151
Explore a world of classical antiquities and ethnographic masterpieces, with treasures from every corner of the globe. Discover Egyptian relics, Greek and Roman artifacts, Etruscan elegance, Near Eastern wonders, and Asian heritage. Marvel at Pre-Columbian marvels, Native American artistry, African tribal expressions, and Oceanic cultural gems. Spanish Colonial legacies, Russian craftsmanship, and a spectrum of fine and visual arts await, offering a captivating journey through history and artistry, connecting cultures across time. Artemis Fine Arts info@artemisgallery.com

View Full Catalog (266)

• Lot Description
  Beverly McIver (American, b. 1962). "Pretty Is … A Little Black Girl" color lithograph on Arches paper. Signed, titled, dated and identified as a printer's proof (PP) in pencil at lower margin. Printed by Segura Art Studios, Notre Dame Center for Arts & Culture, with the blind stamp lower right. A powerful piece in which the artist Beverly McIver depicts herself in blackface, gazing directly at the viewer with a puzzled expression, and wearing a maid's uniform (perhaps a reference to her mother who was a domestic worker), a clown wig and white gloves, as well as the shoes and socks of a child. Holding two black-skinned dolls, she stands in an interior setting with baby blue painted walls and a portrait of a circus clown beside her. This scene was inspired by McIver's recurring childhood dream which she described as follows, "As a child, I had dreamed of becoming a clown to escape my black skin, poverty, and the housing project I once called home." Interestingly, McIver was a pre-professional clown in high school and contemplated enrolling in clown college. She explained it as her "liberation." An important work by and for Beverly McIver, this self-portrait served as a means of confronting black stereotypes and reclaiming her own power as an African-American woman. Size: 38" L x 27" W (96.5 cm x 68.6 cm)
  
  About the Artist: "Beverly McIver is widely acknowledged as a significant presence in contemporary American art and has charted new directions as an artist. She has accumulated more awards and honors than many artists receive in a lifetime, which she pays forward by teaching younger generations about the power of art and the hard work it takes to make it a career. There are numerous artists today who credit McIver for their professional achievements. McIver is also Professor of the Practice of Art, Art History, & Visual Studies at Duke University, and prior to this appointment, she taught at Arizona State University for 12 years.
  
  McIver was born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, as one of three daughters—including her sister, Renee, who has developmental disabilities—of a single mother who worked multiple domestic jobs to make ends meet. She eventually received a BA in Painting and Drawing from North Carolina Central University and a MFA in Painting and Drawing from Pennsylvania State University. In 2007, her undergraduate alma mater bestowed her with an honorary doctorate. Her career as a painter are reminders to herself and her audience of the journey she endured in order to understand the many aspects that collectively shape her identity. The images are also powerful statements about larger issues that affect and challenge everyone, including stereotypes, self-acceptance, family, otherness, illness, death and, ultimately, freedom to express one’s individuality.
  
  In 2022, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art debuted a survey exhibition of McIver’s work, titled Full Circle, which subsequently traveled to the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (Winston Salem, NC) and the Gibbes Museum (Charleston, SC.). The exhibit was accompanied by a hardcover catalog published by the University of California Press.
  
  McIver's work can be found in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian, the North Carolina Museum of Art, the Weatherspoon Art Museum, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Nelson Fine Arts Center Art Museum at Arizona State University, and the Mint Museum, to name a few. Recent honors include election to the 2024 class of National Academicians with New York’s National Academy of Design, and a yearlong residency at the American Academy in Rome (2017), where she was featured in Beverly McIver: e il colore nero, a documentary for Italian television. In 2017, she received the lifetime achievement award from the Anyone Can Fly Foundation in a ceremony hosted by Faith Ringgold. McIver was named one of the 'Top Ten in Painting' in Art in America in 2011.
  
  Raising Renee—a feature-length documentary film produced in association with HBO by Academy Award-nominated and award-winning filmmakers Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan—tells the story of McIver's promise to care for Renee when their mother dies. The film played in festivals around the country, was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Arts and Culture Programming, and is now available on Amazon Prime." (source: Beverly McIver website)
  
  Of Note: Other impressions from the limited edition of 50 of "Pretty Is…A Little Black Girl" (2002) are in the permanent collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota and Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.
  
  Provenance: private Bozeman, Montana, USA collection, acquired before 2015; consignor was co-owner of Segura Publishing Company, Tempe, Arizona and acquired this piece directly from Segura during his tenure
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  SHIPPING EXCEPTIONS: Due to customs clearance issues, we are unable to ship to Germany, Switzerland and Australia. If you live in Germany, Switzerland or Australia, you will need to provide an alternate shipping destination, or we will not be able to complete your purchase. In addition, please note that we are unable to ship ancient items back to the original country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.)
  
  PAYMENT EXCEPTION: Unless a known customer of Artemis, payment for all gold / precious metal / gem lots must be made via Bank Wire Transfer or Certified Bank Check/Money Order, no exceptions.
  
  #191276

  Condition

  Excellent. Signed, titled, dated and identified as a printer's proof (PP) in pencil at lower margin. Segura blind stamp lower right.
• Shipping Info

  • All shipping is handled in-house for your convenience. Your invoice from Artemis Gallery will include shipping calculation instructions. If in doubt, please inquire BEFORE bidding for estimated shipping costs for individual items.

• Buyer's Premium
  • 26.50 %