The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 12, 2025

Black-and-white print depicting a person sitting slumped on steps, hands hanging between their spread knees, wrists crossed. They look down, showing only the top of their newsboy cap, circular with seams radiating from a central button. They wear a loose suit, one trouser leg folded, the other unfolded. Hash marks shade the print.

Siesta

1943

William E. Smith

(American, 1913–1997)
America, Ohio, Cleveland
linocut
Plate: 22.9 x 20.4 cm (9 x 8 1/16 in.); Sheet: 27.8 x 21.6 cm (10 15/16 x 8 1/2 in.)
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1943.244
© William E. Smith
Catalogue raisonné: Teller 17 (as Poverty and Fatigue); Salsbury, Benay, and Kruse 98
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

With a fellow artist, William E. Smith went on to found the first gallery specifically devoted to African American art in Los Angeles after World War II.

Description

William E. Smith conceived of this print at the height of the Great Depression as a statement on the struggles of unemployment, especially in Black communities, during that global economic downturn. He originally titled it Poverty and Fatigue, dramatically shifting our interpretation of a man who slumps forward and gazes downward. In this context, the man’s well-kept clothing might relate to a job search while his defeated pose could suggest the difficulty he faces in finding work. Smith himself benefited from federally funded support for unemployed artists that occasionally subsidized the salaries of Karamu teaching artists.
  • William E. Smith Entry Card to 1943 May Show. Cleveland Museum of Art May Show Records, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
    Salsbury, Britany, and Erin E. Benay. Karamu Artists Inc.: Printmaking, Race, and Community. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2025. Reproduced: p. 50, no. 20
  • Karamu Artists Inc.: Printmaking, Race, and Community. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 23-August 17, 2025).
    Ashcan School Prints and the American City, 1900–1940. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 18-December 26, 2021).
    Our Stories: African American Prints and Drawings. Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 26 - May 18, 2014).
    Transformations in Cleveland Art, 1796-1946. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 19-July 21, 1996).
    Urban Vicissitudes. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 2-September 29, 1985).
    Impressions / Expressions: Black American Graphics. Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY (organizer) (October 7, 1979-January 6, 1980); Howard University, Washington, D.C., DC (February 10-March 28, 1980).
    The May Show: 25th Annual Exhibition of Works by Cleveland Artists and Craftsmen. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 27-June 6, 1943).
  • {{cite web|title=Siesta|url=false|author=William E. Smith|year=1943|access-date=12 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1943.244