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Family Travels
Romare's family moves to New York City to escape segregation -
Born
Romare Bearden was born in North Carolina -
Art Lessons
Romare had his first art lesson from a neighbor named Eugene Baily. -
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College
Bearden studies art and other subjects at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, at Boston University and at New York University, from which he graduates with a degree in education. -
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Career
Becomes a caseworker for the New York City Department of Social Services, a day job he keeps until 1969. He comes to focus on the city's Gypsy community. -
Military
Enlists as private in the Army. Various postings across the United States. Continues showing in group exhibitions of black artists. -
Exhibition
First solo exhibition, at G Place Gallery in Washington. -
Military Discharge
Honorably discharged from the Army. -
Travels
Takes leave from Department of Social Services and travels to Paris on the GI Bill, where he frequents artistic and musical circles. Has letters of introduction to Picasso, Braque, Brancusi and Matisse. -
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Writer
Back in New York, Bearden launches promising career as a writer of pop songs, including the successful "Seabreeze," used for a Seagrams commercial. -
Married
Marries Nanette Rohan, who encourages him to resume his art career. -
College Show
Bearden has his first, landmark collage show at Cordier and Ekstrom, where 21 of his works are shown as photostatic enlargements. Appointed as first art director of the new Harlem Cultural Council, an African American advocacy group. -
Solo Exhibition
Solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art; the exhibition travels to the National Collection of Fine Arts (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum) and to other major institutions. -
Award
Awarded the Gold Medal for achievement in the arts by the governor of North Carolina. -
Honored by President Carter
Bearden and nine other leading African American artists honored by President Carter at the White House, in conjunction with a group show at the Corcoran. -
Honored by President Reagan
Travels to the White House to receive National Medal of Arts from Ronald Reagan. -
Death
Bearden dies on March 12. -
Art Exhibitions
Retrospective at the Studio Museum in Harlem tours to major museums, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art.