When you think about presents for the holidays, one possibility is books. Their ability to teach and entertain the whole family is high on the gift list. Mia Bagneris’s research and writing are good choices for learning about history and art. “Colouring the Caribbean: Race and the Art of Agostino Brunias” examines the artist’s work on colonial West Indians of color. 

The artist worked in the 18th century. You may have seen some of his paintings with women of color in tignons and white dresses, standing under umbrellas or in the markets. Bagneris describes the historical significance of the artist’s work—serving the planter class—also affording his subjects a measure of humanity not found in the paintings of other artists of the era. These historical paintings show scenes of enslaved and free people of color. The work may evoke negative feelings regarding colonialism. At the same time, the images show people who lived in the 1700s, their natural environment and lifestyle. Bagneris gives extended descriptions of the work and its significance. 

The author is an associate professor of African Diaspora Art & Studies of Race in Western Art at Tulane University. 

Embers

A Louisiana artist of acclaim who has a children’s book about her work is Clemtine Hunter. A 2008 picture book called Art From Her Heart: Folk Artist Clementine Hunter is a biography of the self-taught artist and the images she created of her environment. According to School Library Journal, author Kathy “Whitehead’s lyrical text speaks of Hunter’s perseverance and talent as well as of the simplicity, love of nature, and caring of friends and family that informed her work.”

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Fatima Shaik is the author of seven books including "Economy Hall: The Hidden History of a Free Black Brotherhood," the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities 2022 Book of the Year. She is a native of...