#Reyneau
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proenzacoles.bsky.social
This portrait of democracy activist Mary Terrell (which hangs in the National Portrait Galley) was made by Betsy Graves Reyneau. Reyneau, a democracy activist in her own right, was jailed in 1917 for protesting the nation’s lack of universal suffrage in front of the White House.
Portrait of an elegant woman wearing blue against a grey blue background. Silver haired with a pearl earring, she gazes away from the viewer.
March 15, 2025 at 1:24 PM
mdstamper.bsky.social
“Jane Mathilda Bolin” by Betsy Graves Reyneau (American) - Oil on canvas / 1944 - National Portrait Gallery (Washington, DC) #WomenInArt #WomensArt #WomanArtist #WomenArtists #BetsyGravesReyneau #BetsyGraves #Reyneau #NationalPortraitGallery #artText #BlueskyArt #JaneMatildaBolin #WomenPaintingWomen
This oil painting shows Jane Mathilda Bolin, an African American woman in her mid-thirties, seated in left profile but turning her head to meet our gaze. Bolin was the first Black woman to graduate from Yale Law School (1931) and, in 1939, the first Black woman appointed to a judgeship in the United States, sworn in by New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. American artist Betsy Graves Reyneau traveled to New York in January 1944 to paint her, choosing professionalism with clasped hands, a turned body, and a gaze that refuses to soften. Her medium-deep brown skin is modeled with warm tans and cool shadows, emphasizing a focused, slightly furrowed expression that’s calm, guarded, and resolute. Bolin’s dark hair is swept up and back in soft rolls. She wears a vivid crimson coat with a high, turned collar and broad lapel. Its saturated red dominates the composition and catches subtle highlights along the sleeve and shoulder to become a declaration of visibility like authority made present, on her own terms. Her hands rest together in her lap, fingers interlaced, with neatly painted red nails. A wedding band and a wristwatch feel like practical jewelry. Behind her, a flat, deep teal background creates a stage-like stillness that pushes her figure forward. Light falls from the left, brightening her forehead and cheekbone, while the far side of her face recedes into cooler tones. No props interrupt our encounter do authority is carried in posture, restraint, and presence. Reyneau painted this portrait in 1944 for the Harmon Foundation’s exhibition “Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin,” which opened at the Smithsonian in 1944 and toured for a decade to counter racist stereotypes.
December 29, 2025 at 10:52 AM
mdstamper.bsky.social
“Dr. Anna Arnold Hedgeman” by Betsy Graves Reyneau (American) - Oil on canvas / 1945 - National Portrait Gallery (Washington DC) #WomenInArt #art #ArtText #WomanArtist #WomensArt #artwork #FemaleArtist #BetsyGravesReyneau #BetsyGraves #HarmonFoundation #portrait #NationalPortraitGallery #Smithsonian
The Harmon Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in New York City from 1922 to 1967, included this portrait in their exhibition “Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin,” which documented noteworthy African Americans’ contributions to the United States. Modeling their goal of social equality, the Harmon sought portraits from African American artist Laura Wheeler Waring and Euro-American artist Betsy Graves Reyneau. The two painters followed the conventional codes of academic portraiture, seeking to convey their sitters’ extraordinary accomplishments. This painting, along with a variety of educational materials, toured nation-wide for 10 years, serving as a visual rebuttal to racism. Anna Arnold Hedgeman was an African-American civil rights leader, politician, educator, and writer. Under U.S. President Harry Truman, she served as executive director of the National Council for a Permanent Fair Employment Practices Commission. She was also appointed to the cabinet of New York City mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr., becoming the first African-American woman to hold a cabinet post in NYC. Hedgeman was a major advocate for both minorities and the poor. She also served as a consultant for many companies and entities on racial issues plus she was among the organizers of the 1963 March on Washington. Reyneau portrays Dr. Hedgeman seated in a dark wooden chair in right profile, but she has turned her head to look directly at us. She's wearing a full-length, long-sleeve dress with bold, horizontal green and white stripes. Her hands are resting in her lap, and her expression appears thoughtful and direct, but not overtly emotional. Her skin is rendered in a range of warm colors, with subtle shifts in tone. There are shades of peach, pink, and yellow, capturing the highlights and shadows of her face. She has short, dark brown hair, with lighter brown highlights and subtle shading. The contrasting muted green and white stripes create a visually striking pattern.
June 22, 2025 at 5:59 PM
proenzacoles.bsky.social
Judge Jane Bolin (b. 1908) earned her law degree from Yale in 1931 & was sworn in as a New York City judge in 1939. Throughout her life, Bolin championed children’s rights & education. This portrait, made by Betsey Graves Reyneau, is in the National Portrait Gallery.
Portrait of a woman in a red coat against a blue background gazing with determination at the viewer.
March 24, 2025 at 12:50 PM
mdstamper.bsky.social
"Mary McLeod Bethune" by Betsy Graves Reyneau (American) - Oil on canvas / 1943 - National Portrait Gallery (Washington DC) #WomenInArt #art #PortraitofaWoman #WomanArtist #ArtText #WomensArt #FemaleArtist #MaryMcLeodBethune #BetsyGravesReyneau #Reyneau #BskyArt #NationalPortraitGallery #Smithsonian
“We have a powerful potential in out youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends.” - Mary McLeod Bethune On paper, the New Deal programs enacted to ease the economic sufferings of the Depression were open to everyone, but in practice, racial discrimination often kept African Americans from sharing in their full benefits. A black educator and founder of Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Florida, Mary McLeod Bethune was determined to correct that inequity. As an official in the National Youth Administration, she proved remarkably effective in assuring blacks access to its employment programs. But her efforts did not stop there. In 1936 she was the chief organizer of a group of Washington-based African American leaders known as the "black cabinet," whose self-appointed mission was to maintain steady pressure on the federal government to create better job opportunities for blacks. American portraitist Betsy Graves Reyneau depicts the esteemed leader later in life wearing a richly colored, dark blue velvet outfit featuring large dark buttons down the front. The velvet seems to catch the light, giving it a subtle sheen. Her facial expression is serene and dignified, with a hint of a gentle smile playing on her lips. Her dark eyes hold a depth of wisdom and quiet strength. Her dark hair is neatly pulled back, suggesting a careful and composed demeanor. Her skin is realistically rendered, showing the texture and tones consistent with age. In the background, hangs a framed picture depicting a light-colored building which resembles a small academic institution, surrounded by trees and a walkway. To her right sits a globe, resting on a dark wooden stand. She is holding a dark-colored cane in her left hand, resting it lightly against the floor. Bethune had no physical need for the cane she holds in her portrait. She used it, she said, to give herself "swank."
August 1, 2025 at 5:55 AM
cardwell4u.bsky.social
Mary Church Terrell- portrait by artist and suffragist Betsy Graves Reyneau-
Mary Terrell taught in the Latin Department at what is known today as Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School-the first African American High School in the nation. She was a charter member of the NAACP.

Women’s History Month
March 30, 2025 at 4:26 AM
cucumber.bsky.social
one of my favourites from the national portrait gallery in washington dc. joe louis by betsy graves reyneau
portrait of joe louis, purple grey boxing trunks, muscular thighs and torso and arms. his face in shadow from a raised gloved fist
April 1, 2024 at 9:13 AM
daverodgers.bsky.social
Betsy Graves Reyneau as amazing! Do you know how she got it?
#HATM
(I used to give tours at the National Portrait Gallery, and her work for the Harmon Foundation -- including Mary Church Terrell -- is everywhere.)
May 25, 2026 at 2:04 AM
caitlynjones.bsky.social
BEPA has a jail door pin. It belonged to artist Betsy Graves Reyneau, who passed it on to Pauli Murray when she died. We made a zine about it for middle-grade students #HATM nowandhere.org/projects/sis...
May 25, 2026 at 1:56 AM
buffalolibrary.bsky.social
This Thurs., Jan 16 @ 6pm celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with performance art, poetry, and dance.

Free & open to the public @ the Frank E. Merriweather, Jr. Branch Library, 1324 Jefferson near Utica in #Buffalo.

Artist: Betsy Graves Reyneau
U.S. National Archives
January 14, 2025 at 8:48 PM
emiliotejera.eurosky.social
Era un ejemplo científico y humano, ya que era uno de los pocos afroamericanos de su época que habían conseguido descollar en un campo. Además, su filosofía cristiana, que no entraba en contradicción con la defensa de la ciencia, fue muy popular en su época.
Pintura de Reyneau representando a George W. Carver con una de sus plantas.
April 26, 2025 at 8:44 AM
francescagdesnoyer.bsky.social
Tal día como hoy 6 de junio 👇
@francescmrotger.bsky.social @maneltrenchs.bsky.social @lserrat77.bsky.social @artherstory.bsky.social @cactusian.bsky.social @mdstamper.bsky.social
Naturaleza muerta frutal con una copa de champagne, s/d Tal día como hoy 6 de junio nació la pintora alemana Emilie Preyer (1849–1930) Madonna, 1900 Tal día como hoy 6 de junio nació la fotógrafa alemana Aura Hertwig (1861-1944) Retrato de Mrs. Monica Burnard, 1916 Tal día como hoy 6 de junio nació la pintora británica Anna Airy (1882 –1964) Retrato de la Dra. Anna Arnold Hedgeman, 1945 Tal día como hoy 6 de junio nació la pintora estadounidense Betsy Graves Reyneau (1888–1964)
June 6, 2026 at 11:51 AM
proenzacoles.bsky.social
Mary Church Terrell, journalist, educator & activist for women’s rights, voting rights, anti-lynching & NAACP founder. Both of her parents were formerly enslaved, politically active entrepreneurs. Portrait by artist & suffragist Betsy Graves Reyneau. npg.si.edu/object/npg_N...
Painting of an elder African American woman looking elegant, stately and luminescent while gazing away from the viewer, wearing a navy blouse, pearl earrings, her silver hair in a chignon, behind her is a blue background barely lighter than her garment.
November 1, 2024 at 8:36 PM
reconnectsreiki.bsky.social
Great energy here.

‘George Washington Carver by Betsy Graves Reyneau. Oil on canvas, 1942. Gift of the George Washington Carver Memorial Committee, 1944’ #BlackHistoryMonth

npg.si.edu/learn/classr...
I love his satisfied smile in this painting. — “This portrait depicts George Washington Carver in an outdoor setting, wearing a laboratory apron and examining a red-and-white amaryllis, a hybrid that he developed as part of a lifelong hobby. Carver is depicted in a straightforward presentation that uses clear, seemingly uncomplicated colors—blue, bright and dark green, pinks, red, rich browns, and white—and a simple composition with a diagonal emphasis that recalls a snapshot.”
February 8, 2025 at 8:52 PM
firstamendmentgirl.bsky.social
George Washington Carver by Betsy Graves Reyneau, 1942, Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery (Washington, DC)

#Art #ModernArt

More in alt text
Born into slavery, George Washington Carver overcame the obstacles of slender means and racial discrimination to seek an education. He believed that "when you can do the common things of life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world." These words, coupled with his lifelong goal to help poor black farmers trapped in sharecropping and dependency on cotton as a crop, pervaded his work at Alabama's Tuskegee Institute where he was director of agricultural teaching and research for nearly 40 years. Carver's laboratory investigations led to the discovery of more than 450 new commercial products-ranging from margarine to library paste-that could be extracted from previously untapped sources such as the peanut and sweet potato. He demonstrated for southern farmers the wisdom of diversifying crops, instead of relying mainly on the soil-exhausting crop of cotton.
September 29, 2024 at 11:28 PM
joeokonkwo.bsky.social
Authors in Art: Arna Bontemps (1902-1973)
Painting by Betsy Graves Reyneau
#HarlemRenaissance
April 21, 2024 at 6:52 PM
payneme.bsky.social
Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954) was one of the 1st Black women to earn a college degree. She taught at the 1st Black public high school in the nation and she was the 1st Black woman to be appointed to the school board of a major city.

Happy #BlackHistoryMonth

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ch...
Painting of Mary Church Terrell by Betsy Graves Reyneau, 1888–1964
February 19, 2025 at 2:37 PM
oasyshydrodrive.bsky.social
Sunday July 13, 2025 will forever go down as thee panorama 2025, marked by surprises. The seven times Courts Babooneau steel pan orchestra got dethroned by Reyneau Pan time steel pan orchestra.
July 18, 2025 at 3:04 AM
lindadallas4art.bsky.social
#BHM #BlackHistoryMonth
This is a celebration of Mary McLeod Bethune, educator, civil rights leader, and artists' muse. Below is her photographic portrait along with portraits by artists Nilda Comas, Teddy Wright IV, Betsy Graves Reyneau, Winold Reiss, and Richmond Barthé.
February 19, 2025 at 9:00 PM
dwellsjournal.bsky.social
Their legacy reminds us that the greatest measure of our own success can be found in how many others we encourage and support along the way.
Co-founder Mary Church Terrell, by Betsy Graves Reyneau, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
July 21, 2026 at 12:06 PM
liturgical-calendar.com
In addition, April 4 is also the commemoration of the martyr Martin Luther King, Jr.

Betsy Graves Reyneau, Martin Luther King, Jr., c. 1960, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland.
April 4, 2026 at 4:09 AM
longtail-news.bsky.social
Feed: "DailyArt Magazine"
By: Theodore Carter on Monday, February 9, 2026
Betsy Graves Reyneau: Portraitist and Social Justice Warrior
Discover Betsy Graves Reyneau, an American artist and activist known for portraits of Black leaders and a dedication to civil rights.
www.dailyartmagazine.com
February 9, 2026 at 6:17 AM
dwellsjournal.bsky.social
The Court ruled that old anti-discrimination laws in the District were still valid. A person could not be turned away from a public restaurant simply because of race.
Mary Church Terrell, by Betsy Graves Reyneau, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
June 8, 2026 at 9:32 PM
kxirax.bsky.social
When I put balamin in ground sah paytay ko Reyneau that shaking tong
June 20, 2026 at 6:27 PM
Betsy Graves Reyneau: Portraitist and Social Justice Warrior
The post Betsy Graves Reyneau: Portraitist and Social Justice Warrior appeared first on DailyArt Magazine.
www.dailyartmagazine.com
February 9, 2026 at 7:36 AM