Regarded as one of the most important African-American artists of the 20th century, Bearden first achieved recognition for his complex, semiabstract collages of photographs and painted paper on canvas in Europe following WWII. By the 1960s, he was the preeminent collagist in the US. A prolific artist, he created some 2,000 works, many of which focus on aspects of African-American culture, including music and family. A Bearden mural in a subway station in what city was once valued at $15 million? Discuss