Ted Sarandos

Miky Lee

Kimberly Steward

Jim Gianopulos

Patricia Bellinger Balzer

Jason Blum

Arnaud Boetsch

Laura Dern

David Dolby

Sidonie Seydoux Dumas

Sid Ganis

Olivier de Givenchy

Ray Halbritter

Tom Hanks

Dawn Hudson

Bill Kramer

David Linde

Eva Longoria

Ryan Murphy

Dominic Ng

Katherine L. Oliver

Alejandro Ramírez Magaña

David Rubin

Regina K. Scully

Emma Thomas

Kevin Yeaman

Doris Berger

Donald Bogle

Cara Caddoo

Rhea L. Combs

Terri Simone Francis

Michael Boyce Gillespie

Whoopi Goldberg

J. Raúl Guzmán

Shola Lynch

Ron Magliozzi

Ellen C. Scott

Jacqueline Stewart

Gary Dauphin

Lauren Girard

Erwin Hines

Yosuke Kitazawa

Kit Masaracchia

Adriana Siu de Olaso

Emily Rauber Rodriguez

Mike Schiro

Agnes Stauber

Chandini Tirunagaru

Connor Uretsky

Mike Vazquez

Savannah West

Dan Yalg

Something Good Negro Kiss

Bert Williams and Odessa Warren Grey in Lime Kiln Club Field Day (dir. Edwin Middleton, T. Hays Hunter, 1913), film stills. Courtesy Museum of Modern Art.

Bert Williams and Odessa Warren Grey in Lime Kiln Club Field Day

Louise Beavers in Reform School (dir. Leo C. Popkin, 1939), film still. Courtesy Academy Film Archive.

Fredi Washington (center) and Duke Ellington and his band in Black and Tan (1929). Core Collection, Production Files, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences


Fredi Washington (center) and Duke Ellington and his band in Black and Tan (1929)

Bill Robinson and Lena Horne in Stormy Weather (1943). Courtesy of Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Sidney Poitier with Diahann Carroll in Paris Blues (1961)

I am Somebody

In addition to their personal relationships, Black actors also made professional connections through guilds, shared opportunities, and character types.

Academy Award nominees and recipients

Photograph of Hattie McDaniel

Hattie McDaniel

Photograph of Dorothy Dandridge

Dorothy Dandridge

Dorothy Dandridge (Hattie McDaniel)

Photograph of Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier (Hattie McDaniel)

Photograph of Diahnn Carrol

Diahann Carroll

Diahann Carroll (Hattie McDaniel)

Photograph of Ethel Waters

Ethel Waters

Ethel Waters (Hattie McDaniel)

Photograph of Juanita Moore

Juanita Moore

Juanita Moore (Hattie McDaniel)

Photograph of Ruby Dee

Ruby Dee

Ruby Dee (Hattie McDaniel)

Photograph of Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington 

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (Hattie McDaniel)

Photograph of Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte (Hattie McDaniel)

Alumni of the American Negro Theatre

Photograph of Frederick O-Neal

Frederick O’Neal

Harry Belafonte (Frederick O’Neal)

Photograph of Ossie Davis

Ossie Davis

Ruby Dee (Frederick O’Neal)

Photograph of Canada Lee

Canada Lee

Sidney Poitier (Frederick O’Neal)

Photograph of Hilda Simms

Hilda Simms

Performers on wartime radio show Jubilee

Photograph of Ernest Whitman

Ernest Whitman

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (Ernest Whitman)

Ethel Waters (Ernest Whitman)

Photograph of Cab Calloway

Cab Calloway

Cab Calloway (Ernest Whitman)

Photograph of Dooley Wilson

Arthur "Dooley" Wilson

Arthur "Dooley" Wilson (Ernest Whitman)

Photograph of Mantan Moreland

Mantan Moreland

Mantan Moreland (Ernest Whitman)

Photograph of Bill Bojangles Robinson

Bill “Bojangles” Robinson

Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (Ernest Whitman)

Photograph of Lillian Randolph

Lillian Randolph

Lillian Randolph (Ernest Whitman)

Photograph of Butterfly McQueen

Butterfly McQueen

Butterfly McQueen (Ernest Whitman)

Photograph of Eddie Rochester Anderson

Eddie “Rochester” Anderson 

Eddie “Rochester” Anderson (Ernest Whitman)

Photograph of Fredi Washington

Fredi Washington

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (Fredi Washington)

Photograph of Paul Robeson

Paul Robeson

Paul Robeson (Fredi Washington)

Ethel Waters (Fredi Washington)

Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (Fredi Washington)

Photograph of Sammy Davis Jr

Sammy Davis Jr.

Sammy Davis Jr. (Fredi Washington)

Frederick O’Neal (Fredi Washington)

Photograph of Lena Horne

Lena Horne

Lena Horne (Fredi Washington)

Hattie McDaniel (Fredi Washington)

Arthur "Dooley" Wilson (Fredi Washington)

Photograph of Katherine Dunham

Katherine Dunham

Katherine Dunham (Fredi Washington)

Nina-Mae-McKinney Updated

Nina Mae McKinney

Photograph of Abbey Lincoln

Abbey Lincoln

Diahann Carroll (Nina Mae McKinney)

Dorothy Dandridge (Nina Mae McKinney)

Photograph of Eartha Kitt

Eartha Kitt

Eartha Kitt (Nina Mae McKinney)

Ethel Waters (Nina Mae McKinney)

Lena Horne (Nina Mae McKinney)

Ruby Dee (Nina Mae McKinney)

No Image Available 

In addition to their personal relationships, Black actors also made professional connections through guilds, shared opportunities, and character types.

Meet the Stars | Connections

Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971 is the recipient of the 2018 Sotheby’s Prize. The Sotheby’s Prize was founded to support and encourage museums to break new ground by recognizing curatorial excellence and facilitating an upcoming exhibition that explores overlooked or underrepresented art history. The Sotheby’s Prize was awarded by a jury of museum curators and directors comprising Sir Nicholas Serota, Donna De Salvo, Okwui Enwezor (1963–2019), Connie Butler, Emilie Gordenker, and chaired by Allan Schwartzman.

Regeneration is made possible in part by major grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Technology solutions generously provided by Christie®.

Lead support provided by Campari® and J. P. Morgan Private Bank.

Generous support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, and Octavia Spencer.

Accompanying exhibition catalogue supported in part by a grant from Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund.

Academy Film Archive restorations are funded in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation.

Academy Museum Digital Engagement Platform sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.