Aaron Douglas Becomes the Harlem Renaissance's Visual Voice

By 1926, Aaron Douglas—who had arrived in Harlem in 1925 and studied under Winold Reiss—became the defining visual voice of the Harlem Renaissance, illustrating covers and spreads for The Crisis and Opportunity magazines. His distinctive geometric style using flat African-silhouette figures appeared on Crisis covers about lynching, jazz, and theater, establishing a visual aesthetic for the movement.