Object Details
- Artist
- William McKnight Farrow, 13 Apr 1885 - 1967
- Sitter
- Paul Laurence Dunbar, 27 Jun 1872 - 9 Feb 1906
- Exhibition Label
- Born Dayton, Ohio
- Regarded by Frederick Douglass as “one of the sweetest songsters his race has produced,” poet Paul Laurence Dunbar became the first African American author to be able to support himself solely through his writings. Although he wrote three novels and many short stories, it was his poetry, written in both standard English and African American dialect, that first caught the attention of a national audience and allowed him to leave his job as an elevator operator. Although many readers gravitated toward his dialect poems that presented a sunny vision of African American life, Dunbar also probed with great eloquence the harsh world of racial segregation and discrimination. His example inspired not only the next generation of African American writers, but also William McKnight Farrow, who like Dunbar grew up in Dayton before moving to Chicago to pursue a career as an artist.
- Nacido en Dayton, Ohio
- Considerado por Frederick Douglass como “una de las voces más dulces que ha producido esta raza”, el poeta Paul Laurence Dunbar fue el primer afroamericano que pudo ganarse la vida exclusivamente como escritor. Aunque hizo tres novelas y numerosos cuentos, fue su poesía, escrita tanto en inglés estándar como en la variante afroamericana, la que primero atrajo la atención de un público nacional y le permitió abandonar su trabajo de ascensorista. Muchos lectores preferían sus poemas en el inglés dialectal, que presentaban una visión risueña de la vida de los afroamericanos, pero Dunbar también exploró con gran elocuencia el mundo cruel de la discriminación y la segregación racial. Su ejemplo inspiró no solo a la generación siguiente de escritores afroamericanos sino también a William McKnight Farrow, quien al igual que Dunbar creció en Dayton y luego se trasladó a Chicago para hacer carrera como artista.
- Provenance
- Noah G. Hoffman, Chicago; purchased 1993 NPG
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
- 1934
- Object number
- NPG.93.86
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Copyright
- © William McKnight Farrow Estate
- Type
- Painting
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Stretcher: 70.5 x 59.7 x 3.8cm (27 3/4 x 23 1/2 x 1 1/2")
- Frame: 91.4 x 80 x 5.1cm (36 x 31 1/2 x 2")
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- Exhibition
- 20th Century Americans: 1900-1930 (re-installation 2012)
- On View
- NPG, South Gallery 322
- National Portrait Gallery
- Topic
- Costume\Dress Accessory\Neckwear\Tie\Bowtie
- Paul Laurence Dunbar: Male
- Paul Laurence Dunbar: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer\Poet
- Paul Laurence Dunbar: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer\Novelist
- Portrait
- Record ID
- npg_NPG.93.86
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4f74d841c-e024-4711-814b-6a69f525b86a
