Beautiful Shades of Brown: The Art of Laura Wheeler Waring

By Nancy Churnin and Felicia Marshall

Growing up in the late 19th century, Laura Wheeler Waring didn't see any artists who looked like her. She didn't see any paintings of people who looked like her, either. As a young woman studying art in Paris, she found inspiration in the works of Matisse and Gaugin to paint the people she knew best. Back in Philadelphia, the Harmon Foundation commissioned her to paint portraits of accomplished African-Americans. Her portraits still hang in Washington DC's National Portrait Gallery, where children of all skin tones can admire the beautiful shades of brown she captured.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lerner Publishing
• Release date: Dec 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781954354159

Nancy Churnin

Nancy Churnin is the author of many children's books, including Martin & Anne, Sydney Taylor Notable Irving Berlin, the Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing, and the Sydney Taylor Honor Book Dear Mr. Dickens. She is a full-time writer living in Texas.

Book preview