Artwork Page for Porgy

Details / Information for Porgy

Porgy

1929

Richard Beatty

(American, 1899–1961)
Culture
America, Ohio, Cleveland
Medium
lithograph
Measurements
Image: 25 x 18.5 cm (9 13/16 x 7 5/16 in.); Sheet: 48.2 x 31.5 cm (19 x 12 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1929.430
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

After opening on Broadway to popular acclaim in 1927, Porgy toured the United States and Europe for the next two years.

Description

For his skill in lithographs such as this, Richard Beatty was hired as an instructor when Karamu formed a graphic arts program around 1933. While teaching himself lithography at night, Beatty portrayed theater and cabaret scenes using dense, expressive lines from a waxy crayon. He described Porgy (1927) as his favorite print and was inspired after seeing a play by the same name at the Ohio Theatre. Elongated and slumping figures convey the narrative’s emotional climax, about a man’s attempts to rescue his love from her violent partner. The performance featured an entirely Black cast—unusual for the time—and opened to great acclaim in Cleveland in 1929.
A vertically oriented lithograph in grainy black ink on light paper depicts several figures with pale skin tones blending into a dark interior. Centered, one figure reaches upward with both arms. To the left, a person raises their hands while another leans over a bed. To the right, two people sit beside a slatted structure. Below, a figure kneels toward a large, bright area on the floor. A signature, date, and edition number appear below.

Porgy

1929

Richard Beatty

(American, 1899–1961)
America, Ohio, Cleveland

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