Allan Rohan Crite
Born 1910, Plainfield, MA, lives and works in Boston, MA
Father and Son About to Kiss, Headless Mom Watches, from the “Black Male Series”, 1997, hand-colored electrographic print with ink and watercolor wash, Museum Purchase, 1997.74
Allan Crite’s work chronicles the African-American community of Boston’s South End. Through oil paintings, drawings, watercolors, and prints, the artist captures the social fabric of this neighborhood, which has dramatically changed since he first moved there in 1911. His subjects are captured while engaged in everyday activities, interacting with each other and their surroundings.
In 1995, after the Million Man March, the artist began a series of hand-colored prints illustrating the black man’s role within the family. The close connection between fathers and their sons and daughters is immediately evident. They share a quiet dignity and deep affection. Father and child touch easily, without embarrassment, often in the presence of wives and other children. These closely knit, nuclear families place the male at the center of family life and affirm his importance there. While rich in meaning, the prints, with their bold, primary colors, detailed backgrounds, and fine draftsmanship stand alone as works of art.
