Allan Rohan Crite: Griot of Boston
On view October 23, 2025 – January 24, 2026
“All my work is designed—I’m telling a story. As a matter of fact, the old African tradition— what they call a griot: storyteller. That’s what I’ve been doing all of my life in all my drawings. I’m a storyteller.” —Allan Rohan Crite, 1977 (oral history interview, Archives of American Art)
Allan Rohan Crite (1910–2007) continuously recorded the people and places of Boston in his art and writing. A resident of the South End and Lower Roxbury, Crite dedicated much of his career to documenting the Black community there and in nearby neighborhoods. Alongside his representations of everyday life in the city, Crite also incorporated religious themes, blurring the boundaries between the secular and the sacred.
Allan Rohan Crite: Griot of Boston offers a sweeping overview of Crite’s long career and his legacy as a storyteller and knowledge keeper, from his early Neighborhood Series to his embrace of the printing press during the mid-20th century.
Visit the Exhibition
Access to this exhibition is included with First Floor Admission. Athenaeum Members enjoy free admission to all exhibitions year-round.
Griot of Boston was developed in partnership with the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and is accompanied by a companion exhibition Allan Rohan Crite: Urban Glory. A co-published catalog, Allan Rohan Crite: Neighborhood Liturgy, is available for purchase at the Athenaeum and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
In the News
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- Boston Globe, October 31, 2025: “The vibrant art of Allan Rohan Crite, who chronicled Black Boston, finally gets recognition”
- WBUR, October 21, 2025: “Artist Allan Rohan Crite’s vision of Black Boston”, October 22, 2025: “From the divine to the intimate, Allan Rohan Crite’s ‘human art’”, October 23, 2025: “How Allan Rohan Crite built a family of Black artists in Boston”, October 23, 2025: “A Boston artist ahead of his time”
- GBH, October 27, 2025: “Rooted Remembers: Allan Rohan Crite Part I”, November 4, 2025: “Rooted Remembers: Allan Rohan Crite Part II“
- GBH, November 5, 2025: “Boston Public Radio & The Culture Show Live from the BPL”
- Bay State Banner, November 5, 2025: “Roxbury artist Allan Rohan Crite is celebrated in two major exhibitions”
Explore Crite’s Boston
Immerse yourself in the world of Artist Allan Rohan Crite with our digital map inspired by Crite’s artist sketchbook.
Discover the digital guide
Take an in-depth look at the exhibition with our digital guide featuring interviews with those who knew the artist well.
Attend an Exhibition Related Event
Craving more Crite? Don’t miss all the opportunities to experience Griot of Boston
Dive into the Catalog
The first major book about Crite, an artist of powerful significance to twentieth-century Black and American art. Available for purchase at the Athenaeum gift shop.