WPI Oral History: Johanne Bryant-Reid on Romare Bearden

Johanne Bryant-Reid is the current co-director of the Romare Bearden Foundation, as well as a serious art collector and dedicated philanthropist. While working as a Human Resources Executive at Merrill Lynch in New York, Bryant-Reid became immersed in New York’s art scene, often using art as a tool for philanthropic fundraising. She joined the Board of the RBF in 2002, and became co-director in 2009. Highlights of her oral history include her first meeting with Bearden, memories of the artists’ salons and social circles of the 1980s, and reflections on her own art collection. KEYWORDS: Romare Bearden Foundation, collage, Russell Goings, Cordier & Ekstrom, Roy Crosse, art collectors, Norman Lewis, Merrill Lynch, artists’ estates, E.T. Williams, Grace Stanislaus, Diedra Harris-Kelley, artists’ archives, From Process to Print, Cinque Gallery