B. 1912-1988 - Artist Romare Bearden was an educator, author, theorist, and a benefactor who helped young African American artists establish their careers. In 1969 he founded the Cinque Gallery with Norman Lewis and Ernest Crichlow to provide a space for young minority painters and curators to display their work and gain experience in the art world. Romare Bearden also addressed the need to document the unwritten and often forgotten history of African American artists. With the help of Caroll Greene, Bearden organized the 1967 exhibition "The Evolution of Afro-American Artists: 1800-1950" at the City College of New York. One hundred and fifty works by fifty-five black artists were presented in the first exhibition to offer a retrospective of African American work.