Duke art historian Richard Powell's new book links art with slavery and the civil rights movement.

When Duke art historian Richard Powell noticed an explosion of paintings, photographs and other representations of black people during the 1990s, he sought to understand why it was happening.

"As someone interested in art and visual culture, African art and arts of the Americas, I wanted to try to make sense of this," says Powell, who has gained international recognition for groundbreaking scholarship in the field of African-American art history.

What resulted is Powell's new book, Cutting a Figure: Fashioning Black Portraiture (The University of Chicago Press), published last month. In it, Powell tours the evolution of black portraiture from the late 18th century through the modern day, tracing the simultaneous production of art with social phenomena such as slavery and the civil rights movement. He will discuss and sign copies of the book at a reception at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12 at the Nasher Museum of Art.

The term "cutting a figure" gained popularity during the 19th century and refers to people who make a spectacular display of themselves, he says.

Powell's study ranges from pre-civil rights depictions of enslaved and disenfranchised blacks, through the era of postwar fashion model Donyale Luna and contemporary portrait artist Barkley L. Hendricks, to modern examples of black visual culture such as Nike's ubiquitous Air Jordan logo.

"The topic of my study, and particularly of the last chapter in terms of branding and the proliferation of black images, has come to a head with the Barack Obama imagery," he says.

Powell argues that the images should be viewed as a category of portraits distinct from depictions of people with other racial and ethnic backgrounds.

"These real-life subjects -- from branded athletes and introspective photographers to aspiring hip-hop performers and postmodern masqueraders," Powell writes, "cut amazing figures -- mindful that the fashioning of a black portrait necessitates -- no, demands -- that, with your mask and spirit intact, you keep it real."

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Book Signing: Richard Powell
5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12
Nasher Museum of Art
Information: 684-5135; nasher.duke.edu