PARIS: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO MAKE ART AT THE INTERSECTION OF FAITH, JOY AND SOCIAL RECORD?

IT MEANT EVERYTHING.

BORN IN 1910 AND RAISED IN BOSTON’S SOUTH END, HE SPENT NEARLY A CENTURY DOCUMENTING THE LIVES OF BLACK BOSTONIANS NOT AS SUBJECTS OF STRUGGLE, BUT AS VESSELS OF GRACE.

HE PAINTED STREET SCENES, CHURCH PEWS, SCHOOLCHILDREN.

HIS WORK WAS DEVOTIONAL NOT JUST IN ITS RELIGIOUS THEMES, BUT THE DEEP COMMITMENT TO HONORING THE EVERY DAY.

HE BELIEVED ART SHOULD UPLIFT, REFLECT AND PRESERVE.

HE CALLED HIMSELF AN ARTIST REPORTER, BUT HE WAS ALSO A THEOLOGIAN OF THE ORDINARY.

HIS BRUSH GAVE DIGNITY TO THOSE OFTEN OVERLOOKED.

WHILE HIS CONTEMPORARIES ARE ETCHED INTO THE CANON, HIS NAME DOES NOT RING AS LOUDLY IN THE HALLS OF OUR HISTORY.

BUT MAYBE THAT’S THE POINT.

OUR CRITICISM HAS LONG MISSED THE PURPOSE OF ART ITSELF, TO PROVIDE MEANING TO THOSE WHO BUT IT, AND CRITE UNDERSTOOD THAT.

HE CHASED TRUTH.

HE DEDICATED HIS LIFE TO -- DEIFYING BLACK COMMUNITIES IN BOSTON.

HIS DYING WISH WAS TO TURN HIS HOME INTO A MUSEUM, A LIVING ARCHIVE OF HIS WORK AND SPIRIT.

AS IT GOES HERE, CITY POLITICS STOOD IN THE WAY.

THE VISION WAS NEVER REALIZED.

STILL, HIS LEGACY ENDURES.

TODAY, HIS WORK IS PROMINENTLY FEATURED AT THE ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM AND BOSTON ATHENAEUM’S.

IMAGES CONTINUE TO SPEAK TO REMIND US THAT BLACK LIFE IS SACRED, HISTORY IS LOCAL, AND THAT ART IS A FORM OF LOVE.

THIS IS A SPECIAL EPISODE.

ROOTED REMEMBERS ALLAN ROHAN CRITE, WHERE WE DON’T JUST UNPACK HIS WORK, WE SEEK TO UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF LEGACY AND HOW HE IS RECEIVED TODAY.

HE WASN’T A HOUSEHOLD NAME, BUT IN BLACK ARTISTIC CIRCLES AND ON THE FRINGES OF ACTS -- BOSTON’S ACADEMIC COMMUNITIES, ALLAN ROHAN CRITE WAS QUIETLY ICONIC.

HE WOULD CATCH GLIMPSES OF HIM ON SAY BROTHER, BASIC BLACK OR TUCKED INTO LOCAL GALLERIES.

HE WAS PROLIFIC, DEEPLY SPIRITUAL AND FIERCELY INDEPENDENT.

NOT QUITE MAINSTREAM BUT NEVER INVISIBLE.

NOW DECADES AFTER HIS DEATH HIS WORK IS BEING REDISCOVERED, FEATURED IN MAJOR EXHIBITIONS AND REVERED BY THOSE WHO KNEW HIM BEST.

SO WHO IS ALLAN CRITE?

>> I THINK ME -- WE SHOULD START BY LETTING YOU REFLECT ON YOUR OWN HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE AREA OF ART.

WE WILL DISCUSS SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE.

>> IT’S A RATHER DIFFICULT THING FOR ME TO DO.

I SUPPOSE AS FAR AS MY ART IS CONCERNED, I STARTED DRAWING WHEN I WAS ABOUT FIVE OR SIX YEARS OLD.

ONE OF THE TEACHERS AT SCHOOL BECAME RATHER INTERESTED.

SHE CALLED MY MOTHER.

I THINK THE TEACHER’S NAME WAS MS.

BRADY.

SHE SUGGESTED I GO TO THE CHILDREN’S ART CENTER.

IT HAPPENS TO BE A FINE ARTS MUSEUM FOR CHILDREN.

I GOT MY START PAINTING THERE.

AND THEN FROM THERE, I WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL, AND THEY HAD VOCATIONAL ART CLASSES.

FROM THERE, I GOT A SCHOLARSHIP TO THE MUSEUM SCHOOL ITSELF.

I WENT THERE FROM 1929 TO 1936.

I’VE BEEN DRAWING EVER SINCE.

AND OF COURSE, AGUT -- DID GO TO HARVARD UNIVERSITY.

CLASS OF 1968.

>> ALLAN CRITE WAS AS THE PLAQUE ON THE LAST PLACE HE LIVED SAYS, HE WAS A VISUAL ARTIST, PAINTER, PRINTMAKER, AUTHOR, LECTURER, HISTORIAN.

HE CALLS HIMSELF A DOCUMENTARIAN AND A STORYTELLER.

A GRIOT.

THE THING FOR ME THAT MAKES HIS WORK SO DISTINCTIVE AND SIGNIFICANT IS THAT HE LIVED A VERY LONG LIFE AND HE WAS AN INCREDIBLY PROLIFIC ARTIST.

HE WAS BORN IN 1910 AND DIED IN 2007.

HE WAS PRODUCING WORK ALMOST ALL OF THAT TIME.

FOR ME AS A HISTORIAN AND AS A HISTORIAN OF BLACK LIFE, HIS WORK REALLY TO ME IS A SORT OF MAP FOR BLACK LIFE IN BOSTON ACROSS THE 20TH CENTURY.

>> ALLAN CRITE WAS SOMEONE WHO YOU COULD PASS ON THE STREET AND NOT REALLY KNOW HIS GREATNESS, HIS CREATIVITY AND HIS IMAGINATION.

HE BLENDED IN TO HIS HOME CITY OF BOSTON, AND PEOPLE WOULD NOT RECOGNIZE HIM CARRYING HIS SKETCHBOOK, WHICH HE ALWAYS CALLED HIS BRAINS.

THESE ARE MY BRAINS, WE CAN’T LEAVE WITHOUT THE SKETCHBOOK BECAUSE THESE ARE MY BRAINS.

MOST DAYS, HE WOULD WEAR HIS BEIGE RAINCOAT AND CARRY ON ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF DOCUMENTING BOSTON.

AND PARTICULARLY BOSTON’S BLACK COMMUNITY.

>> ALLAN CRITE WAS ESSENTIALLY THE GODFATHER OF ART IN BOSTON, PARTICULARLY ART OF THE COMMUNITY AND OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY.

HE STOOD FOR THE PERSONIFICATION OF IDENTITY WITHIN BOSTON’S BLACK COMMUNITY.

AND FOR DECADES, HE LIVED IN THE SOUTH END AND DEPICTED THE LIVES OF AVERAGE PEOPLE THROUGHOUT BOSTON’S BLACK COMMUNITY.

>> ALLAN ROHAN CRITE CALLED HIMSELF AN ARTIST REPORTER.

HE PAID TO THE STREETS OF ROXBURY AT THE SOUTH END, STREET OF STORE CHILDREN -- SCHOOLCHILDREN AND STOREFRONTS.

HIS WORK WAS NOT ABOUT SPECTACLE, IT WAS ABOUT PRESENCE.

HE DOCUMENTED BLACK LIFE IN BOSTON WITH DIGNITY AND CARE, CREATING A VISUAL ARCHIVE OF EVERYDAY GRACE.

>> ARE IS A FORM OF COMMUNICATION.

IT IS COMMUNICATION.

IT’S A FORM OF COMMUNICATION WHICH EXTENDS FAR BEYOND THE LIFE OF EACH INDIVIDUAL ARTIST.

BECAUSE OF THAT, I SAY THE COMMUNITY OF THE ARTIST EXTENDS DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS.

>> I THINK IT’S FAIR TO SAY THAT HIS WORK WAS TO A LARGE EXTENT OUTSIDE THE MAINSTREAM OF BOTH THE POLITICAL WORK BEING DONE BY OTHER BLACK ARTISTS IN BOSTON AT THE TIME, AND THE WORK BEING SHOWN ON NEWBURY STREET IN GALLERIES.

HE WAS SHOWING THE BOSTON COMMUNITY A SLICE OF ITSELF, THAT IT KNEW EXISTED BUT WHICH WAS NOT BEING DEPICTED IN MOST OF THE ART GALLERIES AND PUBLICATIONS.

>> THERE ARE RELATIVES AND ANCESTORS IN HIS WORK AND THEY CAN IMAGINE WITH THE CITY WAS LIKE EARLY IN HIS NEIGHBORHOOD SERIES.

OF COURSE BECAUSE HE HAD SUCH A LONG CAREER, THE WORK HE’S MAKING IN THE 80’S AND 90’S, A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE ARE STILL WITH US.

THEY REMEMBER THE MOMENTS HE CAPTURED LIKE THE DINNER PARTIES, OR THE MORE MUNDANE ASPECTS OF EVERYDAY LIFE.

YOU HAVE PRINTS OF EVERY STANDING IN LINE AT THE BANK, OR PEOPLE AT THE CITY BUS.

I THINK THOSE EVERYDAY MOMENTS, IT IS STILL THINGS WE DO.

WE ALL STILL COMMUTE TO WORK, TO CHURCH OR TO SCHOOL AND THESE ARE THE MOMENTS THAT HE’S REALLY PUTTING DOWN ON PAPER AND ON CANVAS FOR PEOPLE.

>> I THINK CRITE’S BLACK BOSTON FOR ME IS REALLY SITUATED IN A VERY LONG KIND OF BLACK FREEDOM STRUGGLE THAT IS INCLUSIVE OF A BLACK VINDICATION IS PROJECT THAT REALLY, CRITE IS PART OF A HUGE COMMUNITY OF BLACK INTELLECTUALS, SCHOLARS, ACTIVISTS ACROSS THE LATE 19TH AND REALLY EARLY 19TH, WELL INTO THE 21ST CENTURY, WHO ARE INTERESTED IN BLACK LIFE AND IN THE BLACK IMAGE.

IN THE 1960’S, KRAIT WROTE -- CRITE WROTE SOMETHING WHERE HE SAID BLACK PEOPLE IN THE U.S.

HAVE AN IMAGE PROBLEM.

I THINK HE’S PART OF A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO ARE KNOWLEDGE PRODUCERS AND CREATORS AND MAKERS AT THE TIME, AND I THINK CAN TEMPORARILY OR REALLY WORKING TO CREATE A COUNTER NARRATIVE TO THE WAYS THAT PERVASIVE WHITE SUPREMACIST THINKING, RACIST IMAGERY, AND DURING HIS TIME JIM CROW THAT REALLY NARROWED THE POSSIBILITIES OF AND FOR BLACK REPRESENTATION AND VISUAL ARTS AND CULTURE.

HE WAS REALLY WORKING TO HUMANIZE BLACK PEOPLE AS PART OF THIS PROJECT.

IT’S AN ARTISTIC PROJECT BUT ALSO AND CONTINUES TO BE A POLITICAL AND CULTURAL PROJECT IN BLACK INTELLECTUAL ARTISTIC COMMUNITIES.

>> IS THERE A SPECIAL ROLE YOU BELIEVE THIS HAS TO PLAY?

>> THE COMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS.

THAT’S WHAT HE ALREADY IS.

IT’S A FORM OF COMMUNICATION.

BECAUSE I COMMUNICATE IN A PRETTY WIDE FIELD, IT’S MORE THAN JUST WORDS AND STUFF.

BY MEANS OF PICTURES, BY MEANS OF THE DANCE, AND SO FORTH.

THAT’S WHAT THE ARTIST DOES.

HE IS ENGAGED IN DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES, AND HE’S PROUD OF IT.

>> CRITE’S ART WAS DEEPLY SPIRITUAL.

HE REIMAGINED BIBLICAL SCENES WITH BLACK FIGURES PLACING THE SACRED IN EVERY DAY.

’S WORK BLURRED THE LINES BETWEEN DEVOTION AND DOCUMENTATION, BETWEEN THEOLOGY AND TESTIMONY.

HE BELIEVED ART COULD UPLIFT, AFFIRM AND PRESERVE THE SOUL OF THE COMMUNITY.

>> A LOT OF YOUR PAINTINGS ARE ABOUT RELIGION.

WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT ALLAN CRITE?

>> I’M A VERY RELIGIOUS PERSON.

[LAUGHTER] >> ARE YOU REALLY?

>> I DON’T KNOW.

WHAT A QUESTION.

I DO GO TO CHURCH, MY SOUL’S BENEFIT.

I GUESS OTHER PEOPLE’S BENEFIT, TOO.

I MUCH MORE EPISCOPALIAN.

THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF LITURGY AND THINGS LIKE THAT IN THE CHURCH.

MAYBE I COULD EXPLAIN IT THIS WAY.

BACK IN THE 1930’S, THE PICTURE OF BLACK PEOPLE WAS SHARECROPPERS IN THE SOUTH, JAZZ PERSONALITIES IN NEW YORK, AND NOTHING IN BETWEEN.

WHAT I THOUGHT I WOULD DO IS MAKE PAINTINGS OF WHAT WAS IN BETWEEN.

THAT GAVE ME A BASIS.

KIND OF DOCUMENTARY PAINTING FOR ME.

THE NEXT THING WAS, OF COURSE I HEARD A RADIO ANNOUNCER, A GOOD-NATURED GUY I GUESS, POSSIBLY SOMEWHAT LACKING IN INFORMATION.

SHE WAS SPEAKING ABOUT SPIRITUAL NEED GROWS.

I HAD AN IDEA WE WERE POSSIBLY IN TROUBLE, BECAUSE I DON’T THINK ALL BLACK JOY IS SPIRITUAL AND SO ON.

SO I DECIDED TO ILLUSTRATE SPIRITUALS.

SOME OF THEM HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED, BY HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS.

IN ORDER TO ILLUSTRATE THESE SPIRITUALS, I HAD TO USE SOME SORT OF MECHANISM.

THE MECHANISM WAS THE LITURGY OF THE CHURCH.

THE MAKINGS OF VESTMENTS AND THINGS IN THAT ORDER.

THAT WAS ITEM NUMBER TWO.

KIND OF PRESERVING THE IDEA OF SPIRITUALS IN SOME KIND OF A MEDIUM.

THE OTHER THING OF COURSE IS MAKING RELIGIOUS DRAWINGS, I PUT THAT IN QUOTATION MARKS, WHERE I USE THE BLACK FIGURE.

BY MEANS OF THAT, THIS I WAS DOING IN THE 1930’S, AND I AM STILL DOING MORE OR LESS.

SOMETIMES I HAVE A LITTLE DIFFICULTY SPEAKING ABOUT RELIGIOUS DRAWINGS, RELIGIOUS SUBJECT MATTER, AND, SECULAR THINGS BECAUSE AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED, THEY ARE TWO PARTS OF THE ALL -- SAME THING.

WE JUST LIVE ONE LIFE.

THOSE THINGS ARE TO -- HOOKED UP TOGETHER.

>> MR.

CRITE WAS AN INVETERATE OPTIMIST.

HE WAS CONSTANTLY OBSERVING AND CONSTANTLY EXCITED BY WHAT HE SAW AROUND HIM, AND SORT OF CURIOUS AND INTERESTED.

HIS VISION OF BOSTON AS ONE FILLED WITH PEOPLE, LIVING IN COMMUNITY, LIVING THEIR DAILY LIVES.

BUT WHEN YOU SAY LIVING YOUR DAILY LIFE, THAT MAKES IT SOUND LIKE IT’S BANAL OR BORING, OR, I DON’T KNOW, I’M RUNNING TO THE GROCERY STORE.

HE PUT HIS VISION OF THE EVERY DAY IS FILLED WITH JOY AND SOMETIMES LIKE AN OPERATING HOLY FIGURE ON THE T. I THINK THE WAY HE’S ABLE TO FIND SOMETIMES LITERALLY THE DIVINE, BUT SOMETIMES JUST THAT JOYFUL FEELING AND HOW EVERYONE IS LIVING THEIR LIFE IN BOSTON, IS EXCEPTIONAL.

HE WAS A BLACK BOSTONIAN.

HE’S REALLY DEDICATED TO RECORDING THE LIFE OF BLACK BOSTONIANS, WHICH IS EXCEPTIONAL.

>> CRITE CALLED HIMSELF A DOCUMENTARIAN.

SO AS A HISTORIAN, I THINK I WAS REALLY INTERESTED IN LOOKING AT KIND OF A CHRONOLOGY OF HIS WORK.

LOOKING AT THE THINGS THAT HE PRODUCES IN THE 1930’S AND THE 1940’S, AND AT THE TIME, SOME OF HIS WORK, HIS ABILITY TO DO THAT WORK IS SUPPORTED BY THE WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION AND THE FEDERAL ART PROJECT, SOME PRIVATE PHILANTHROPY.

HE’S GETTING TO SHOW HIS WORK ACROSS THE COUNTRY ALONGSIDE FOLKS LIKE ARCHIBALD MOTLEY, PALMER HATED -- HAYDEN.

I KIND OF LOOKED AT HIS WORK AGAINST A CHRONOLOGY OF BOSTON.

HE IS WORKING ON SHOWING US WHAT BLACK LIFE, BLACK RELIGIOUS LIFE, BLACK INSTITUTION BUILDING LOOKS LIKE IN BOSTON, THROUGH MUCH OF HIS YOUTH, AND INTO HIS ADULTHOOD.

>> IT’S ESSENTIAL THAT ARTISTS, IN WHATEVER MEDIUM THEY ARE WORKING IN, DEPICT THE CULTURE AND THE LIFE OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT THEY ARE LIVING IN.

THE ARTS ARE OFTEN THE ONLY WAY IN WHICH WE STAY IN TOUCH WITH OUR HISTORY AND OUR ANCESTRY.

THE WORK THAT ALLAN DID TO DEPICT LIFE IN THE SOUTH END AND IN ROXBURY IS WORK THAT PRESERVES A MOMENT IN TIME, AND ALSO SERVES AS A FOUNDATION FOR HOW WE IDENTIFY AND CONCEPTUALIZE OURSELVES AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

>> FAITH AND SPIRITUALITY IS EVERYWHERE IN HIS WORK.

EVEN IN THE PIECES THAT SEEM SECULAR, HE IS ALWAYS INTEGRATING A CHURCH SPIRE IN THE BACKGROUND, OR INCLUDING A MOTHER AND CHILD THAT EVOKES THE MADONNA AND CHILD.

HIS WORK, SO MUCH OF IT WAS DIRECTLY ABOUT SPIRITUALITY, ABOUT HIS EPISCOPAL FAITH.

BUT SO MUCH OF IT IS ABOUT JUST THE SACREDNESS OF EVERYDAY LIFE AND THE BEAUTY THAT YOU COULD FIND IN THOSE MUNDANE MOMENTS.

>> GRANDFATHER’S WORK DEMONSTRATES THE BOUNDARYLESS NESTS OF IMAGINATION.

THAT HE DARED TO DREAM AND TO EMBRACE HIS OWN DREAMS, WHICH IS A TAKE THAT EMPOWERS US TODAY.

WE HEAR A LOT ABOUT IMAGINATION.

WELL, I HEAR ABOUT IMAGINATION, IN CONTEMPORARY 21ST-CENTURY TIMES.

BUT CONFORMITY WAS THE KEYWORD WHEN HE WAS MAY BE MY AGE OR EVEN YOUNGER.

SO I THINK THAT WHAT HE HAS DEMONSTRATED HIS LIFE, HIS LEGACY AND DEMONSTRATED TO ME IS HOW YOU CAN OWN YOUR OWN FUTURE.

>> I AM NOT A PARTICIPANT IN HISTORY.

I’M ONLY A GUST OF HISTORY.

SO THEREFORE AS A GUEST, MY PART IN HISTORY IS PURELY SUBJECTIVE, NOT ACTIVE.

I SHAPED NOTHING.

I AM SHAPED BY, WHICH OF COURSE IS TOLD IN THE EUROPEAN IDIOM.

THAT ISN’T QUITE DEAD EVEN TODAY.

>> FOR BLACK ARTISTS, OWNERSHIP IS OFTEN A TIGHT ROPE, BALANCING THE NEED TO SELL WITH THE FEAR OF SELLING OUT.

CRITE DID NOT WAIT FOR INSTITUTIONS TO VALIDATE HIM.

HE PRINTED HIS OWN WORK, PUBLISHED HIS OWN WRITING, AND MADE HIS ART ACCESSIBLE WITHOUT COMPROMISE.

HE LIVED AS AN ARTIST.

HE DIDN’T JUST DIE AS ONE.

AND IN DOING SO, HE OFFERED A BLUEPRINT FOR HOW BLACK THE CREATORS CAN SUSTAIN THEMSELVES WITH INTEGRITY.

SO HOW DID HE MAKE IT WORK?

>> HIS WATERCOLORS AND HIS SKETCHES HAVE THIS LOOSENESS, THIS FLUIDITY.

IT IS SOMETHING I LOVE ABOUT THEM.

THEY ARE SO VIBRANT.

HE’S REALLY CAPTURING THE ENERGY OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD AROUND HIM, OF HIS NEIGHBORS.

IN A STRANGE WAY, THE PRINTING PRESS GAVE HIM THAT ABILITY TO STILL CREATE WORK AND CAPTURE THAT SAME ENERGY, BUT HE COULD MAKE MULTIPLES.

WHEN YOU DO WATERCOLOR OR DRAWING, PAPER, PENCIL, YOU CAN MAKE ONE AND GIVE IT TO ONE PERSON.

WITH THE PRINTING PRESS, HE COULD DROP FREEHAND ON A PLATE AND PRINT THAT AND MAKE MULTIPLES.

HE COULD GIVE YOU ONE, HE COULD GIVE ME ONE, PUT IT IN A MUSEUM AND DISTRIBUTE FREELY.

THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO HIM.

I THINK THE MULTI-LIVE PRESS THAT HE USED WAS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR HIS PRACTICE, BECAUSE OF THAT.

HE COULD STILL DRAW IT RAPIDLY AS HE WAS KNOWN TO DO, BUT HE COULD MAKE MULTIPLES AND DISTRIBUTE THEM TO THE COMMUNITY.

>> I DON’T THINK ALLAN CARED THAT MUCH ABOUT HIGH LEVELS OF PUBLICITY FOR HIS WORK.

HE DISTRIBUTED IT, HE PRINTED IT.

HE SAW TO IT THAT IT GOT OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY AND INTO THE WIDER WORLD, BUT HE WAS NOT A PUBLICITY SEEKER.

I THINK THAT WHAT MATTERED TO HIM WAS HIS ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE ON THE STREET AND TO SHOW THEIR LIVES.

>> IN MY RESEARCH ON CRITE, I HAD SEEN SOME OF HIS PAINTINGS, SOME OF THE OIL PAINTINGS.

I HAD NOT SEEN HIS DRAWINGS, THE LITHOGRAPHS THAT HE CREATED, HIS GREETING CARD SERIES, ALL OF THE WORK THAT HE HAD DONE FOR CHURCHES IN THE NORTHEAST, IN NEW ENGLAND.

SO I DID NOT KNOW HOW PROLIFIC HE WAS AND REALLY ACROSS A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT MEDIA.

OILS, PRINTS, LITHOGRAPHS, DRAWINGS, SKETCHES.

I HAD NO IDEA THAT HE HAD DONE SUCH DIFFERENT TYPES OF WORK.

I WAS ALSO REALLY IMPRESSED AT HIS COMMITMENT TO ACCESSIBILITY.

ONE OF THE THINGS HE SAID ABOUT GETTING THE LITHOGRAPH MACHINES WAS THAT IT MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR HIM TO MAKE MULTIPLE COPIES OF THINGS.

THAT MEANT THAT MORE PEOPLE COULD SEE HIS WORK.

THE KIND OF DRIVE TO DEMOCRATIZE THE ACCESS TO ART WAS DEFINITELY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO ALLAN ROHAN CRITE.

>> HE HAD A SPECIAL WAY OF CARING FOR PEOPLE, BY NOTICING THEM, AND BY CAPTURING THEM ON THE PAGE.

I HOPE THAT THAT’S WHAT IS ENDURING ABOUT US, AND HOW WE CAN REALLY SEE AND REALLY HELP PEOPLE HEAL.

THROUGH OBSERVING, RECOGNIZING THAT YOU ARE, AND WHO YOU ARE IS BEAUTIFUL AND UNIQUE, AND THAT HE CARED ABOUT YOU.

YOU COULDN’T VISIT HIS HOME WITHOUT SIGNING HIS GUESTBOOK.

DID YOU SIGN THE BOOK?

YOU HAVE TO SIGN THE BOOK.

BECAUSE HE MADE SURE THAT YOU KNEW YOU MEANT SOMETHING.

YOUR NAME, YOUR PRESENCE WAS A GIFT TO HIM IN THE HOME, AND RECORDED YOUR PRESENCE.

IT IS THAT WAY OF BEING NOTICED, OF BEING OBSERVED, OF BEING -- HE DID A PIECE, I THINK IT IS PEN AND INK, A SKETCH HE DID OF ME CALLED DENISE.

I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW HE WAS DOING IT.

IT WAS LIKE, WHAT?

BECAUSE HE OBSERVED ME.

HE WAS WATCHING ME.

EVERY CURL, MY EYELASHES.

TO BE NOTICED LIKE THAT IS SO SPECIAL AND SO LOVING.

THAT’S WHAT I CARRY.

AND THAT’S WHAT I HOPE THAT WE CARRY FOR HIM.

>> ALLAN ROHAN CRITE’S DYING WISH WAS TO TURN HIS HOME INTO A HOUSE MUSEUM, A LIVING ARCHIVE OF HIS WORK AND SPIRIT.

BUT CITY POLITICS STOOD IN THE WAY.

STILL, HIS LEGACY ENDURES.

>> I HAVE A BODY OF WORK.

I’M NOT GOING TO BE AROUND FOREVER, SO SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE ABOUT IT.

SO IT’S BEEN SUGGESTED, I SHOULD HAVE A MUSEUM.

THAT WASN’T MY IDEA, BUT SOMEBODY ELSE’S IDEA.

THE PRESERVATION OF THE WORK, SO THAT OTHER PEOPLE MAY HAVE A CHANCE TO LOOK AT IT AND GAIN WHAT BENEFITS THAT MIGHT BE INVOLVED.

SO I HAVE TO HAVE SOMETHING IN MOTION SO THAT IT CAN BE PRESERVED.

>> MR.

CRITE WANTED TO TURN HIS HOUSE INTO A MUSEUM.

AND IT WAS FILLED WITH ART.

HE, NOT UNLIKE ISABELLA, HAD A BIT OF AN ART QUARTER VIBES.

HIS FRIENDS SAY IT’S PARTIALLY INSPIRED BY THE GARDENER AESTHETIC.

THIS IDEA OF WANTING TO CREATE A HOUSE MUSEUM, MR.

CRITE’S HOME IS SADLY NO LONGER INTACT AS HE HAD IT.

THERE’S REALLY NOT A QUESTION OF WHO GETS TO CREATE A HOUSE MUSEUM OR A HOUSE FEELING MUSEUM THAT’S AROUND FOREVER.

>> NEXT TIME, WE EXPLORE HOW CRITE IS REMEMBERED AND HOW LEGACY IS NEVER GUARANTEED.

PARIS: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US ON THIS SPECIAL EDITION OF ROUTED REMEMBERS, WHERE WE HONOR THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF BOSTON’S OWN ALLAN ROHAN CRITE.

HIS IMPACT AND THE PEOPLE KEEPING HIS VISION ALIVE TODAY AS WELL.

STAY CONNECTED, SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE, SPOTIFY AND WHATEVER YOU GET OUR PODCASTS.

IF THERE’S SOMEONE YOU THINK SHOULD BE FEATURED ON ROOTED REMEMBRANCE, DROP US A LINE.

UNTIL NEXT TIME, STAY ROOTED, STAY DIVINE, AND AS ALWAYS, STAY TUNED.