The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 20, 2025
The Four Seasons
1990
(American, 1924–2001)
Image: 57.2 x 78.8 cm (22 1/2 x 31 in.); Sheet: 63 x 86.8 cm (24 13/16 x 34 3/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 2003.33
© John T. Biggers Estate / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY, Estate Represented by Michael Rosenfeld Gallery
Location: Not on view
Description
Because of the African origins of the "shotgun house"-a narrow, rectangular house popularized in the southern United States-Biggers used it as a symbol of continuity within African American culture. In this piece, he weaves the repetitive architecture of the shotgun house with quilt patterns. The pervasive porches foster communal life and neighborhood connectivity. In his vision, humans, animals, and tools alike take on universal meanings: iron pots stand in for the womb, while train tracks recall the Underground Railroad, as well as the ongoing divide between neighborhoods.- ?-2003(Hand Graphics, Santa Fe, NM), sold to The Cleveland Museum of ArtMarch 3, 2003-The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Gallery 229 Rotation, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 7, 2009-March 15, 2010).
- {{cite web|title=The Four Seasons|url=false|author=John Biggers|year=1990|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2003.33