Charles Henry “Spinky” Alston emerged as a pivotal force during the Harlem Renaissance; a devoted artist and educator, he sought to uplift African Americans through the transformative qualities of culture and art.
Alston’s journey began in the vibrant city of Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was born in 1907 to Reverend Primus Priss Alston, a minister, and Anna Elizabeth Miller Alston, a schoolteacher. His father died when Charles was just three years old, and his mother later married Edward S. Alston, whose relocation brought the family to Harlem, New York, when Charles was seven.
Upon completing his studies at Columbia University in 1925, he faced the painful barrier of being denied entry into drawing classes due to the color of his skin. Undeterred, Alston forged ahead and was awarded the Arthur Wesley Dow Fellowship, allowing him to continue his education at Columbia’s Teachers College, where he earned a master’s degree in fine arts.
L-R: 1955, “The Family”, an oil on canvas painting, and “Girl in Red Dress” 1934 portrait; Charles Henry Alston
Alston’s artistic endeavors flourished in multiple mediums. He crafted the cover for a Duke Ellington jazz album and designed dust jackets for literary giants like Langston Hughes and Eudora Welty, which showcased his keen eye for graphic storytelling. During the 1930s and 1940s, he became a sought-after illustrator for Fortune, The New Yorker, and Saturday Evening Post. He also painted murals for public spaces, including the Harlem Hospital Center, blending modernist abstraction with African American cultural themes.
Among his most celebrated works is the bust of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which, two years after King’s assassination, became the first work by an African American artist to be displayed in the White House—a monumental moment for Black representation in American institutions.
L-R: Some of Charles Alston sketch work of Dr. Charles Hawkins, Dr. Charles Drew, and Boxer, Joe Louis; Charles Alston
Deeply committed to education and activism, Alston taught at the Harlem Community Art Center and helped found the Harlem Artists Guild, an organization focused on securing federal support for African American artists. He broke new ground as the first African American instructor at both the Art Students League and the Museum of Modern Art, mentoring a new generation of Black artists, including Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden.
Charles Alston passed away in 1977, but his legacy endures. His work not only captured the beauty and struggles of Black life in America but also transformed institutions that once excluded artists like him. Alston’s vision and voice helped shape the cultural fabric of the 20th century, ensuring that art by African Americans would no longer be marginalized, but celebrated.