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Lunchtime Lecture: Friendship and Inheritance in Emma Amos’s “The Gift”

Name: Lunchtime Lecture: Friendship and Inheritance in Emma Amos’s “The Gift”
Start: 2026-10-06T00:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-10-06T00:00:00+00:00
Location: The Cleveland Museum of Art

Presented by The Cleveland Museum of Art at The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland OH

Oct 06 2026

Lunchtime Lecture: Friendship and Inheritance in Emma Amos’s “The Gift”

The Gift (detail), 1990–94, Emma Amos (American, 1937–2020). 48 watercolor (acrylic wash) portraits on Saunders Waterford watercolor paper; each about 66.5 x 50.5 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 2023.126. © Emma Amos; Courtesy of RYAN LEE Gallery, New York Top, left to right: Moira Roth, bell hooks, and Mira Schor Bottom, left to right: Lucy R. Lippard, Faith Ringgold, and Emma Amos

Emma Amos was an influential artist whose paintings, prints, and textiles celebrated her creative community of women, particularly women of color.

This practice of picturing her social circle reached its peak in the monumental portrait series The Gift (1990–94), recently acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art. Made as a birthday present for her daughter, India, this suite of 48 watercolor portraits, painted from life, depicts women artists, writers, and curators who range in age, race, and degrees of renown. Complementing the exhibition The Gift: Emma Amos with Friends, join Gabriella Shypula, Leigh and Mary Carter Director’s ... view more »