About This Stamp
The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s was one of the great artistic and literary movements in American history. As African-American writers and artists pushed the boundaries of their identities and their art, they created a diverse body of work that explored their shared history and experience, embodied the spirit of the times, and let new and distinctive voices be heard. The four literary figures honored on these stamps highlight diverse facets of the Harlem Renaissance: writer, philosopher, educator, and arts advocate Alain Locke; novelist Nella Larsen; bibliophile and historian Arturo Alfonso Schomburg; and poet Anne Spencer.
The stamps feature stylized pastel portraits of the four honorees that incorporate African-inspired motifs as background elements. These design elements reflect the increased interest in African culture, history, and aesthetics shown by the writers and artists of the Harlem Renaissance.
In two novels, Nella Larsen (1891–1964) explored the complex experiences of mixed-race people and questions of identity and belonging. Now considered one of the most important novelists of the Harlem Renaissance, Larsen challenged conventional thinking, and her work continues to invite interpretations from previously neglected points of view.
Writer, philosopher, educator, and arts advocate Alain Locke (1885–1954) was a vital intellectual figure of the Harlem Renaissance. Locke wrote and edited some of the most significant publications of the movement, and he played a leading role in supporting and promoting writers and artists.
An ardent bibliophile and self-taught historian, Arturo Alfonso Schomburg (1874–1938) demonstrated the worldwide contributions of people of African descent. By tirelessly collecting books, documents, artwork, and other materials, Schomburg rescued black history from obscurity and preserved priceless cultural knowledge for future generations.
Known for unconventional imagery that evokes nature, gardening, religion, and myth, poet Anne Spencer (1882–1975) provided a haven for African-American writers and intellectuals in her Virginia garden and home, a reminder that the artistic and cultural life of the Harlem Renaissance extended far beyond New York City.
The artist for these stamps was Gary Kelley. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamps.
The Voices of the Harlem Renaissance stamps are being issued as Forever® stamps. These Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.
Stamp Art Director, Stamp Designer
Greg Breeding
Greg Breeding is a graphic designer and principal of Journey Group, a design company he co-founded in 1992, located in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was creative director until 2013, at which time he began serving as president and continued in that role through 2023.
Breeding’s fascination with modernism began while studying design at Virginia Commonwealth University. His affinity with the movement continues and motivates his ongoing advanced studies at the Basel School of Design in Switzerland most every summer.
As an art director for postage stamp design since 2012, Breeding has designed more than 100 stamps covering a diverse array of subjects, from Star Wars droids and Batman to Harlem Renaissance writers and the transcontinental railroad.
His work has been recognized in annual design competitions held by Graphis, AIGA, PRINT magazine, and Communication Arts.
Breeding lives in North Garden, Virginia, with his wife and enjoys nothing so much as frolicking on the floor with his grandchildren.
Stamp Artist
Gary Kelley
Renowned illustrator Gary Kelley has created award-winning images for many of America’s major publications and corporations including Time, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, the National Football League, and Google.
Educated in his native Iowa at the University of Northern Iowa, Kelley received an honorary doctor of humane letters from his alma mater in 1995. His work — honored by the Society of Illustrators as Best in Show as well as with gold and silver medals — has been exhibited throughout the U.S., as well as in Tokyo and Paris. Kelley has illustrated nearly 30 picture books. He has lectured or taught at the Smithsonian Institution, the Chicago Art Institute, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Art Center College of Design, among others. In 2006, Kelley was inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame.
In 1998, the U.S. Postal Service issued his designs for four stamps celebrating Gospel Singers as part of the Legends of American Music series. In 2010, Kelley illustrated the Oscar Micheaux stamp and in 2012, four Great Film Directors stamps. Most recently, Kelly illustrated the stamp art for the 2020 Voices of the Harlem Renaissance issuance.