The World Before Racism: An Art Story

by Lisa Farrington, Jack Flam (Introduction), Erin Thompson (Foreword by)

Overview

The term racism is understood to mean that race is the principal determinant of specific human traits and capacities and that due to racial differences, one race is inherently superior to all others. Over time, racism has commonly referenced the notion that the White race is superior to all others, fostering prejudice and discrimination. In The Artist Book Foundation's publication, The World Before Racism: An Art Story, author and art historian Lisa Farrington meticulously examines the intersection of art, history, and race, using original works of art as primary source materials to support her premise that racism is a construct, invented in the mid-1700s, to support the financial, political, and religious structures of European colonialism.

Using art from ancient Egypt, classical Greece, and the Roman Empire, through Medieval Europe and the colonization of the New World, to the art of the present day—sources that cannot be easily altered, edited, or selectively translated—Farrington expertly examines the intricate interplay between the Black and White races, how they saw and understood each other over the centuries. The artworks serve as powerful voices, precisely conveying the artist's intended messages. The goal of The World Before Racism is to present irrefutable evidence that the ideology of racism is unfounded, unsupported, unjustified, and destined to fade away like so many other archaic and erroneous ideas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798987228272
Publisher:	The Artist Book Foundation
Publication date:	09/30/2025
Pages:	180
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.50(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Lisa Farringtonis an American art historian and author, specializing in African American, Haitian, and women's art. She is a graduate of Howard University (BFA), American University (MA), and subsequently obtained her MPh and PhD in art history and philosophy at the CUNY Graduate Center. A past Associate Dean of Fine Arts at Howard University, she is currently Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Founding Chair of the Department of Art & Music at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York. Farrington is one of only six full professors of African American art history in the United States. Her 2005 book, Creating Their Own Image, was the first comprehensive history of African American female artists, from slavery to present day. Her 2015 book, African American Art: A Visual Culture and History, is an updated survey on African American art. Farrington resides in New York City.

Jack Flamis a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Art History at Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center at the City University of New York. He is the author of numerous books, catalogues, and articles on African art and on nineteenth and twentieth-century European and American art. Erin Thompsonholds a JD from Columbia Law School and a PhD in Art History from Columbia University. As Amer- ica's only professor of art crime, she studies the ethics of cultural heritage, and various other intersections between art and crime.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Dedication Page

Acknowledgements

Foreword: Erin Thompson

Introduction: Jack Flam

PART 1:

Art as a “Primary Source”

The Ancient World

PART 2:

The Middle Ages and the Moors

From Gothic to Renaissance: St. Maurice and Parzifal

PART 3:

European Ascendency: From Slavs to Slaves

Architects of Racism: 18th and 19th Centuries

PART 4: EPILOGUE

The Early 20th Century and the Harlem Renaissance

The Latter 20th Century and the Pan African Black Arts Movement

The 21st Century, Afrofuturism and Post Black

Bibliography

Syllabus / Teaching Guide

Illustration Credits