L'Atlantique Noir de Nancy Cunard

Eighty years ago, on February 15, 1934, Englishwoman Nancy Cunard (1896-1965), a symbol of the Anglo-Saxon and French avant-garde of the early 20th century, published Negro Anthology. Lavishly illustrated, this 858-page book, resembling a major documentary enquiry, blended popular culture, sociology, politics, history, art history in the form of articles, archives, photographs, extracts from the press, musical scores, eye-witness accounts etc. Through the great themes examined in Negro Anthology, the Musee du Quai Branly will present the transnational artistic, literary and political networks constructed by Nancy Cunard in the years between 1910 and 1930, which have made this anthology a monument to black history.

View the exhibition's official website.

Portrait of Nancy Cunard  -  Man Ray, 1925

Image courtesy of the Centre Georges Pompidou/Musée du Quai Branly