Alonzo J. Aden

Alonzo J. Aden (May 6, 1906 - October 13, 1961) was an art historian and gallerist. He served as curator of “Hall of Negro Life” at the Texas Centennial Exposition, the first major Black arts and culture exhibit at a world's fair, and the American Negro Exposition in Chicago. Aden co-founded with James V. Herring the Barnett-Aden Gallery, one of the first Black-owned art galleries in the United States.

Early life and education

Alonzo “Lonnie” Aden was born on May 6, 1906, in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He was the oldest son of Ephraim Aden (1859–1917), a hotelier, That fall he started classes at Howard University,

In 1935, Aden received a Rockefeller Foundation scholarship The Hall of Negro Life attracted more than 400,000 visitors.

in 1938, Aden received a travel grant from the American Association Museums to study in Europe. invited Aden to serve as curator of the exhibition held in the Tanner Hall Galleries. The Barnett-Aden gallery was named in honor of Aden's mother, Naomi Barnett-Aden, Aden's partner, James Herring, died in 1969, and the gallery closed.

In 1989, a portion of the Barnett-Aden Collection, approximately 130 artworks, was sold for six million dollars to the Florida Endowment Fund for Higher Education. In 2015, Johnson donated select works from the Collection to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

As a permanent legacy to Aden and Barnett, Cultural Tourism DC erected a Barnett Aden Gallery memorial marker on the African American Heritage Trail in Washington, DC.