Alfred McMoore: All This Luck in My Head
September 20, 2025 - February 8, 2026 | Karl and Bertl Arnstein Galleries
In September, the Akron Art Museum will open the first solo museum exhibition for artist Alfred McMoore. McMoore (1950–2009) lived and worked his entire life in Akron, creating enormous drawings that depict many of the people he encountered. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, McMoore turned to art as a daily practice of expression and connection. He drew in pencil on scrolls of paper that were five feet high and up to fifty feet long. Because of their monumental size, these works have rarely been displayed publicly.
McMoore’s unique presence in Akron’s cultural landscape inspired the name of the renowned band. Dan Auerbach has shared that McMoore would often leave voicemails saying, “This is Alfred McMoore. Your black key is taking too long”—a phrase believed to signify that something was off-center or not quite right.
![Alfred McMoore. Untitled [Funeral Scene], mid 1990s. Graphite on roll paper. 60 x 540 in. (152.4 x 1371.6 cm). Collection of the Akron Art Museum. Gift of Charles Auerbach, 1995.5](https://akronartmuseum.org/wp-content/smush-avif/2025/04/1970.50_Detail6-300x240.jpg.avif)