Session Looks at Bearden's Impact on Art and Society

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One was a hot pitching prospect who was scouted by the Major Leagues. Another was a songwriter. Still another was a soldier and scholar.

All of them were Romare Bearden, a painter and activist whose life and work are the subject of a symposium Friday and Saturday at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture.

"Bearden in the Public Realm" examines the artist's impact as a mentor, philanthropist and art ambassador. The event, which is free and open to the public, is part of a national symposium series organized by the Romare Bearden Foundation in New York City.

Bearden, who died in 1988, lived in Pittsburgh as a fourth- grader and as a teenager. …