Aaron Douglas' cover for FIRE!! was one of his finest graphics. Douglas was among the first Afro-American artists to incorporate strong African themes into his work. His illustrations and dust jackets stand out as powerful and distinctive contributions to the art of the book. He created murals for the Countee Cullen Branch Library, a dining room at 71st and Broadway, the Harlem YMCA, basement nightclubs along Lenox Avenue, and the Fisk University Library in Nashville. In 1937 he founded Fisk's art department, which he chaired until his retirement in 1966. He died in 1979.
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