Considered one of the most important American artists of the 20th century, Romare Bearden’s artwork depicted the African American experience and culture in creative and thought-provoking ways. As a child, Bearden spent summers with his grandparents in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the pleasant memory of the city’s backyard gardens lingered on his mind. Though he spent most of his career in New York, his artwork often portrayed nostalgic recollections of the people of the rural South.