- Created by
- Snowden, Sylvia, American, born 1942
- Date
- 1994
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 29 3/4 × 21 1/2 in. (75.6 × 54.6 cm)
- Caption
- Sylvia Snowden is an American abstract artist known for her richly textured and colorful expressionist paintings. Born in North Carolina, Snowden studied under David Driscoll at Howard University and has resided in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC since the 1970s. The title of this print, Malik I, is an homage to her son, Malik Butler. In 1993, 18-year-old Butler was shot and killed not far from the family's home. His murder remains unsolved.
- Description
- An abstract color lithograph with a composition predominately of bright blue. The blue appears in both swirls and precise, narrow strokes and is surrounded by blooms of color in purple, black, red, and yellow. The yellow appears in an arcing swath along the left side, becoming green where it intersects with the blue. Most of the composition extends to the edge of the paper, with some space left along the left edge. Handwritten in the bottom left corner in graphite is [14/100 “Malik I”] with [Sylvia Snowden 10/94] at the bottom right.
- Classification
- Visual Arts
- Type
- lithographs
- Topic
- Abstraction
- Art
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Juanita and Melvin Hardy
- Object number
- 2020.58.9
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Sylvia Snowden
- Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




