Shades of Black: The Art and Genius of Archibald Motley Jr

Lindsay Johns examines how the artist Archibald Motley Jr captured the politics of skin tone in Jazz Age Chicago, and why his art still resonates today.

From formal portraiture to group compositions, Motley painted African American men and women. He used his dazzling skills to undermine racial stereotypes, questioning what it was to be 'black'. His paintings chart the development of Chicago's 'Black Metropolis', the birth of gospel music, and black nightlife.

Lindsay has been bewitched by Motley's painting 'Blues' since he first saw it 20 years ago, and now he journeys to Chicago, Motley's home city, to find out more about the artist and the place that made him. Starting at the Chicago Art Institute, Lindsay discusses Motley's skill as a painter; then at the city's History Museum he explores the toxic racial politics of the 1920s and 1930s. And when he speaks to Chicago's contemporary artists, Lindsay discovers that while Motley's work documented the Chicago of nearly a century ago, it also retains a strong resonance today.

Producer: Giles Edwards
Research: Jelena Sofronijevic