Alpha Phi Alpha’s Charles Alston Was a Harlem Renaissance Master Who Shaped Generations of Black Artists

Did you know that the Harlem Renaissance artist who created the first image of a Black person ever displayed in the White House was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.? His name was Charles Henry Alston, and he was one of the most important Black artists and teachers of the twentieth century.

Charles Henry Alston was born on November 28, 1907, in Charlotte, North Carolina, and moved with his family to Harlem as a boy. He attended Columbia College and Columbia University’s Teachers College, and, as Columbia College Today documents, it was on campus that he became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. while contributing illustrations to student publications.

Alston became a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance. A painter, muralist, sculptor, and teacher, he ran an influential studio workshop known as “306” on West 141st Street, where Black artists, writers, and musicians gathered. There he mentored a ten-year-old named Jacob Lawrence, who would grow up to become one of the most celebrated painters in American history.

His talent opened doors that had long been closed. In 1936, working on the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project, Alston became the project’s first African American supervisor and created a pair of landmark murals for Harlem Hospital. He went on to teach at the Art Students League and other institutions and helped found the Black artists’ collective Spiral.

Alston’s most historic work came near the end of his life. In 1970, he created a bronze bust of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that became the first image of an African American ever displayed in the White House, a milestone in the nation’s recognition of Black art and Black history.

Charles Alston died on April 27, 1977, in New York City. From the studios of Harlem to the walls of the White House, Alpha Phi Alpha’s Charles Alston helped define Black American art and lifted up the generation of artists who followed him.