The estate of Robert Colescott, the influential American painter who died in 2009, has signed with Gladstone Gallery for representation. Gladstone will debut Colescott's work at Art Basel Miami Beach next month and mount its first solo exhibition for the artist in 2025. Colescott is best known for satirical, large-scale paintings like "George Washington Carver Crossing the Delaware: Page from an American History Textbook" (1975), which critiques the exclusion and caricaturing of Black figures in American history and art. The estate sought new representation after its longtime gallery, Blum, closed this summer. Gladstone senior partner Max Falkenstein said the gallery had long admired Colescott and that the partnership felt like a natural fit given the gallery's focus on identity and politics.
This move matters because it places a historically significant but still underappreciated artist with a major international gallery, likely boosting his market and institutional presence. Colescott was the first Black artist to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale (1997), and his auction record soared to $15.3 million in 2021. With a centennial retrospective opening in December at the Tacoma Art Museum, Gladstone's representation signals a sustained effort to cement Colescott's legacy and expand his collector base, especially as the gallery plans to support his full 50-year career.