Object Details
- Artist
- William H. Johnson, born Florence, SC 1901-died Central Islip, NY 1970
- Luce Center Label
- William H. Johnson’s paintings of African Americans were often based on scenes he remembered from his life in South Carolina and later in Harlem. Johnson may have based Blind Musician on such singers as Blind Boy Fuller, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, or the Reverend Gary Davis (Powell, Homecoming: The Art and Life of William H. Johnson, 1991). These performers attracted notice in the South and made their way to Chicago and New York City, where their recordings helped make the blues tradition familiar to mainstream audiences. The background of crosshatched lines signals that these itinerant musicians belong in no particular place, and must make their way with only their voices, guitar, and tambourine.
- Credit Line
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation
- ca. 1940
- Object number
- 1967.59.670
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Painting
- Medium
- oil on plywood
- Dimensions
- 36 3/8 x 28 1/4 in. (92.2 x 71.6 cm.)
- See more items in
- Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture
- On View
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 4th Floor, 31B
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 4th Floor
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Topic
- Figure group
- African American
- Performing arts\music\guitar
- Record ID
- saam_1967.59.670
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7aa1506ea-f587-4ba2-8282-539475ab6ac1
