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

Photograph of Frederick O-Neal

Frederick O’Neal

In 1940, Frederick O’Neal co-founded the Harlem-based American Negro Theatre (ANT) alongside playwright Abram Hill. The theater company provided classical training for emerging Black actors and an opportunity to develop material that followed W.E.B. Du Bois’ principle of Black drama being “by, about, for, and near” African Americans. The American Negro Theatre produced twelve original plays and seven adaptations between 1940 and 1951, including an international tour of Anna Lucasta.

Photograph of Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte (Frederick O’Neal)

The legendary actor, singer, and activist was an ANT graduate and performed in plays like ANT’s 1946 production of On Strivers Row.

Photograph of Ossie Davis

Ossie Davis

Davis got his start on the New York stage, performing in productions of Jeb (1946), where he would meet his future wife Ruby Dee, The Green Pastures (1951), and A Raisin in the Sun (1959).

Photograph of Ruby Dee

Ruby Dee

Ruby Dee (Frederick O’Neal)

The legendary ANT graduate performed in many of the group’s productions, including On Strivers Row (1940), Natural Man (1941), Starlight (1942), Three’s a Family (1943), and The Washington Years (1948).

Photograph of Canada Lee

Canada Lee

Before starting his acting career, the multi-talented Canada Lee was a trained concert violinist, nightclub owner, horse racing jockey, and national amateur boxing champion. He worked with many ANT graduates, including Sidney Poitier.

Photograph of Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier (Frederick O’Neal)

A 1959 New York Times article recounts Poitier’s rocky first audition with ANT: “He struggled to read the script, and his West Indian accent made him difficult to understand. So he bought a radio and spent hours at a time listening to the voices and training himself to enunciate words clearly. He also studied newspapers and magazines and taught himself to read. Ultimately, he was hired by the theater.”

Photograph of Hilda Simms

Hilda Simms

A theatrically trained actress, Hilda Simms joined the American Negro Theater in the 1940s, starring as the lead character in Anna Lucasta and continuing in the role as it moved onto Broadway and toured Europe. When she eventually left the part, it was taken over by Ruby Dee.

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.