Bearden’s family relocated from North Carolina to New York City when he was a teenager. There Bearden studied at several schools including New York University (NYU). Whether by happenstance or destiny, Bearden whose early interest was in playing sports professionally, became one of the most renowned African American artists in history. As a cartoonist for The Medley humor magazine, he created images for African-American publications such as W.E.B. Du Bois's, The Crisis. Bearden, who also had a penchant for writing, which was likely inspired by his mother. A social and political activist, she once edited The Chicago Defender Newspaper, an African American publication.

Bearden’s cultural roots ran deep in the south, however, he came of age as an artist during the formative stages of Harlem Renaissance in New York. His home there is said to have been a frequent gathering place for artists, musicians, and intellectuals such as W. E. B. Du Bois, Paul Robeson, Countee Cullen, Aaron Douglas, Duke Ellington, and Andy Razaf.

Despite his tremendous talent as an artist, Bearden maintained his job as a caseworker in the New York City Department of Social Services for a great majority of his career. His first solo exhibition took place at the Samuel M. Kootz Gallery in 1945. Years later, Bearden travelled to Paris where he studied philosophy at the Sorbonne. He became fast friends with modernist artists Pablo Picasso and Constantin Brancusi, and French and Black “expatriate” artists.

Upon his return to New York, Bearden’s work was marked with renewed vigor and noticeable stylistic changes. His use of bold color patterns and lines to delineate shapes recalled Bearden’s early interest in flat painting and jazz and showed the influence of abstract expressionism. He also experimented with merging collage-like techniques and painting—layering various elements and expansive swaths of color on paper with varying thickness. Bearden also combined torn in ways that simulated the formation of motifs. He insisted, however that “his works were paintings, not collages, because he used the techniques and materials of collage to create the rhythms, surfaces, tones, and moods associated with painting.”

In addition to the notoriety that he received for his bold works of art, Bearden, is remembered as a tireless activist who used his platform to support and advocate for African American artists. Most notably, Bearden co-founded and joined several collective groups such as the Harlem Artists Guild, the 306 Group, and the Harlem Arts Council. In 1963, he and other African American artists/activists Charles Aston and Norman Lewis formed “Spiral,” an artists’ collective that focused, in part, on civil rights issues. During this period, Bearden’s work came to the attention of Arne Ekstrom, a New York art dealer who mounted “Projections,” a 1964 exhibition of his collages and photomontages.

By the 1970s and 1980s, Bearden’s work also emphasized African American genre and myths. His 1977 exhibition entitled Romare Bearden, Odysseus at Cordier opened at the Ekstrom Gallery in New York, Bearden also an avid jazz enthusiast incorporated motifs that were inspired his love of musical genre. His "Of the Blues," exhibition of monoprints, received critical recognition.

His use of vibrant and intense colors during the 1970s is attributed to his many visits to St. Martin, the West Indies family home of his wife Nanette. The artist’s final works include a watercolor series of Caribbean landscapes, seascapes, and portraits.