"Romare Bearden (1911–1988): A Centennial Celebration"

As part of the citywide celebration marking Bearden's 100th anniversary, the Met has put on view The Block (1971), the artist's six-panel collage tribute to the neighborhood in which he lived and worked: Harlem. Displaying the artist's signature syncopated style and sly referential mix of African tribal art, Old Master painting and Modernist elements, The Block pictures a sweep of activity—children playing, teenagers hanging out, a homeless man asleep, a funeral in progress—spilling out along Lenox Ave between 132nd and 133rd Sts. It's an American classic.