Famous Works from South End Artist Found in Storage, Now Up for Auction
It sounds like the plot of a movie: Important works by a prominent South End artist were found recently in an abandoned locker in western Massachusetts. Now, the artwork, a unique collection of works from visual artist Allan Rohan Crite, who was a long-time resident, artist and important figure in the South End for much of the 20th Century, is being put up for auction this weekend. The collection features a selection of autobiographical sketches in pencil documenting the African American experience. The works include prints, drawings, and the artist’s personal documents and studio materials, including a mannequin and his mimeograph machines. The works were the content of Crite’s studio that were put into storage in the 1990s when he became ill. Crite lived and worked in Boston for most of his life, starting out as a student at the Children’s Art Centre at the United South End Settlements before graduating from English High School in 1929 and earning degrees from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Harvard, and Suffolk. In his later years, he returned to the South End to live at work at the Allan Rohan Crite Research Institute on Columbus Avenue. In 1986, the intersection of Columbus Avenue and West Canton Street was named Allan Rohan Crite Square. A 2002 Boston Globe review called Mr. Crite “the granddaddy of the Boston art scene,” naming him as “a master of his craft and a treasure of his community.” An African-American man, Crite’s works centered around telling about what he called the “African-American Experience.” “As a visual artist,” Mr. Crite said in a 1998 interview with the Harvard Extension School Alumni Bulletin, “I am . . . a storyteller of the drama of man. This is my small contribution – to tell the African-American experience – in a local sense, of the neighborhood, and, in a larger sense, of its part in the total human experience.” He died at the age of 97 in 2007. You can read more about Crite’s life in an obituary published by the Boston Globe. Crite’s works will be put up for auction at Grogan and Company, Fine Art Auctioneers and Appraisers in Dedham. The auction will be begin at 10 a.m. Sunday, June 16th, with a three-day exhibition opening on Thursday, June 13th. More information on the auction can be found here. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Things to Know in the South End, June 6: Singles Auction at Club Cafe
1. Weather: The National Weather Service is predicting a sunny day, with a high near 75 degrees. 2. Pride Singles Auction: Tonight at Club Cafe, (209 Columbus Ave.) Boston’s MaverickMen, Cole & Hunter are emceeing a special Pride bachelor & bachelorette auction presented by the Theatre Offensive. Bid to win a wonderful date with one (or two) sexy singles. All winners will receive a gift certificate. Tickets are $ 5 in advance, and $ 10 at the door. See here for more information. 3. Art Show: The South End Community Health Center, (1601 Washington St.) has announced it will host its first ever art show on Saturday, June 15, 2013. The organization will bring together a number of accomplish artists to help raise awarness about their mission and impact in the South End. Twenty percent of the sale proceeds made during the show will support the nonprofit. See here for more information. 4. Book Talk: Boston Building Resources (100 Terrace St.) in Roxbury hosts a book talk with Jeff Deyette, the co-author of the Boston Globe bestseller “Cooler Smarter: Practical Steps for Low-Carbon Living,” tonight at 6:30 p.m. Based on two years of research and analysis, the book shows the most effective strategies for reducing your global warming emissions, and how to take action at work, in your community, and politically. See here for more information. 5. Markey in Chinatown: OK, it’s not the South End, but it’s close. Congressman Edward Markey, and candidate for U.S. Senate, will be at the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (38 Ash St.) on Friday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. as part of a ‘Community Conversations’ Speaker Series. The idea is to offer the community a chance to have conversations with some of the most prominent decision-makers in the state. See here for more information. Things you can do every day on South End Patch: Share your news with the rest of the community. Click here to add an announcement. Add your events to our events calendar. Click here to sign up for breaking news updates. Want up-to-the-minute news? Click here to follow us on Facebook or Twitter. Share your thoughts on your community in a blog. Click here to get started. South End Patch