Howard University Brochure “A Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings and Prints by Ruth Starr Rose”
April 4-May 4, 1956
9” x 12”
In late spring of 1956, James Amos Porter, father of African American art history and professor at Howard University invited Rose to give a solo exhibition at Howard University, where he extolled her work on Negro spirituals. The show proved so popular that the dates were extended. Prior to the opening, there was a dedication ceremony held on April 4, 1956, in which Rose presented a gift of her prints to the university. Miraculously, the notes for her speech have survived. Her brief dedication addressed equal rights as a part of religious freedom. Rose’s closing words reveal her philosophical approach to the spirituals:
These spirituals I have given to the students of Howard and to the faculty, with the knowledge that these great uplifting truths, which guide us—will be a light and inspiration to you all, always to me and to you, together.
Porter’s words of praise were printed on the brochure. He judged Rose’s work on the theme of Negro spirituals to be unrivaled:
Ruth Starr Rose’s visual interpretation of Negro Spirituals is the most comprehensive, and probably the most sympathetic work yet to appear in the United States. Although Negro Spirituals have been interpreted by numerous artists in many different media of the visual arts, no single artist has approached the extensive treatment accorded by this artist to this theme.
Rose’s dedication to this subject was an unlikely creative choice for an early 20th-c. female artist. In practice, however, her exceptional life experiences, artistic training, and close relationship with African American people in her local community made her uniquely suited to the task of depicting this distinctively American art form.