The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Bedtime

Bedtime

1940
(American, 1911–2006)
Framed: 86.4 x 66 cm (34 x 26 in.); Unframed: 79 x 66.2 cm (31 1/8 x 26 1/16 in.)

Did You Know?

Sallée worked as an interior designer for many important clients, including the Cleveland Browns.

Description

After teaching at Karamu House, Charles Sallée went on to become the first African American graduate of the Cleveland School (now Institute) of Art, earning his degree in 1938. Initially focused on painting and printmaking, he subsequently launched a distinguished professional career in interior design. Bedtime is the artist’s most famous image, having earned national renown when it was featured in James A. Porter’s groundbreaking survey Modern Negro Art, published in 1943.
  • June Sallee Antoine (the artist's sister)
  • Litt, Steven. "Cleveland Museum of Art Survey's America's Racial History Through Works by Modern, Contemporary Black Artists," Plain Dealer, February 27, 2022. P. D-2
    Porter, James A. Modern Negro Art. New York, NY: Dryden Press, 1943. Reproduced: p. 238
    Rahn, Zita, and Ursula Korneitchouk. Yet Still We Rise: African American Art in Cleveland, 1920-1970. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Artists Foundation, 1996. Reproduced: p. 34
    Cole, Mark "The Cleveland Gallery." Cleveland Art, no. 49 (September 2009):6. Reproduced: p. 6
    Litt, Steven. “A Sampling of the New Acquisitions on Display in the East Wing.” Cleveland Plain Dealer June 21, 2009, P. H6.
    Bassett, Mark. "Charles Sallee's Joyous Work." Link 11 (Spring, 2012):5. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 5
    Cole, Mark, Amy Sparks, and Rebecca Michaels. African American Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2013. .. Reproduced: p. 11; Mentioned: p 20.
  • Currents and Constellations: Black Art in Focus. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 20-June 26, 2022).
    Exhibit by Karamu Artists,. Associated American Artists, New York, NY, (January 7-22, 1942).
    Hardship to Hope: African American Art from the Karamu Workshop. Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, Beachwood, OH (organizer) (September 13-December 31, 2011).
    Yet Still We Rise: African American Art in Cleveland, 1920-1970. Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, (March 15-April 20, 1996); Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH (December 22, 1996-January 26, 1997) ; Riffe Gallery, Columbus, OH (April 24-July 12, 1997).
  • {{cite web|title=Bedtime|url=false|author=Charles L. Sallée|year=1940|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2006.202