Street Life, Harlem
Object Details
- Date
- ca. 1939-1940
- Artist
- William H. Johnson, born Florence, SC 1901-died Central Islip, NY 1970
- Luce Center Label
- The New York Amsterdam News reported in 1939 on the crowds gathering at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. The reporter described the "cock-eyed hats, perched at crazy angles on . . . shiny hair" and skirts "a tantalizing fraction of an inch below their knees" (Powell, Homecoming: The Art and Life of William H. Johnson, 1991). In Street Life, Harlem, William H. Johnson portrayed an elegant couple dressed "to the nines" for an evening on the town. Style, as much as skin color, was a mark of pride among many African Americans who had come of age during the Harlem Renaissance, but the flamboyant appearance of zoot-suiters inflamed racial tensions long after swing music and the jitterbug had been absorbed into American popular culture.
- Luce Object Quote
- "I am feeling . . . that I would like my own homeland next, as I know of no better country to inspire me . . ." Letter from the artist, 1938, in Powell, Homecoming: The Art and Life of William H. Johnson, 1991
- Topic
- Figure group
- Cityscape\New York\New York
- Cityscape\street
- African American
- Cityscape\celestial\moon
- Cityscape\New York\Harlem
- Architecture Exterior\commercial
- See more items in
- Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture
- Credit Line
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation
- Data Source
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Object number
- 1967.59.674
- Type
- Painting
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Medium
- oil on plywood
- Dimensions
- 45 5/8 x 38 5/8 in. (116.0 x 98.0 cm)
- Metadata Usage
- Not determined
- Record ID
- saam_1967.59.674
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