Created by
Douglas, Aaron, American, 1899 - 1979
Date
1938
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
H x W x D (Framed): 25 5/8 × 27 5/8 × 4 1/2 in. (65.1 × 70.2 × 11.4 cm)
H x W (Unframed): 18 × 20 × 1 in. (45.7 × 50.8 × 2.5 cm)
Caption
In 1938 Aaron Douglas visited the island of Haiti while traveling on a Rosenwald Foundation fellowship. During his sojourn, he created a series of paintings that were exhibited in Port-au-Prince as well as the ACA Galleries in New York (1939). Douglas was well regarded for his unique modernist style that blended elements from art deco, African art, and Egyptian hieroglyphics. However, for his Haitian series, he chose to paint in a post-impressionist vein.
Although Harlem Renaissance luminary Alain Locke was disappointed in the work’s conventional style and felt it gave "little distinctively new or forceful" to the field, Douglas’s decision to paint scenes from Haiti reflected an important step for black artists interested in capturing their experiences in various parts of the African diaspora.
Description
An oil on canvas painting by Aaron Douglas depicting a street scene in Haiti. In the foreground, three (3) women are depicted, all traveling from right to left. The two women at proper right are walking, and the third woman at center is traveling on a donkey or burro. The woman on the donkey is wearing a light blue dress and cream colored hat, and is sitting on top of a cloth or a sack. Both of the women traveling on foot are wearing dresses, with brightly colored headscarves topped with baskets balanced on their heads. At proper left, a man is emerging from an alley, wearing a light blue suit with cream colored hat. Behind the figures are colorful buildings bathed in dappled sunlight, a glimpse of colorful blue sky and puffy clouds visible in the background. At proper left there is a large building painted yellow with colorful trim around the windows, at center a garage with teal blue doors, and at proper right a stone wall with a large pine tree with gracefully drooping branches behind. The painting is signed at the lower-right corner [A. Douglas].
Place made
Haiti, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
Classification
Visual Arts
Movement
Harlem Renaissance (New Negro Movement)
Type
paintings
Topic
African diaspora
Art
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Melvin Holmes Collection of African American Art
Object number
2015.267
Restrictions & Rights
© Aaron Douglas Foundation//Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS)
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5a14099b6-cc63-4b2e-b02b-abc48a917eb1

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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