The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Vertically oriented print in black ink depicting a boy with dark skin tone from the shoulders up, looking up and smiling with what could be a cigarette jutting from the corner of his mouth. The circular rim of a hat surrounds his head and he wears overalls with a collared shirt. White highlights the shirt collar, as well as the boy's chin, forehead, and upper cheeks. Defined, while lines pop against a dark background.

Pay Day

1938

William E. Smith

(American, 1913–1997)
America
linocut
Image: 20.3 x 15.1 cm (8 x 5 15/16 in.); Sheet: 26.9 x 21.9 cm (10 9/16 x 8 5/8 in.)
The Jane B. Tripp Charitable Lead Annuity Trust 2022.251
© William E. Smith
Catalogue raisonné: Teller 10; Salsbury, Benay, and Kruse 87 (First Version)
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The composition seen here seems to have been especially meaningful to William E. Smith, who realized it a second time in reverse three years later.

Description

Although he often depicted the hardships and struggles of Black life in Depression-era Cleveland, William E. Smith countered such representations here with an image of triumph and joy. A man beams with pride after receiving his initial paycheck from his first job—a notable event during a period of economic crisis that especially impacted Black communities. Describing the image, Smith emphasized the hope, independence, and empowerment that this income could provide: “I meant the dreams and self-confidence on his fact to be just as important as the cigar in his mouth, and the blue overalls to be glorified by the money in their pockets.”
  • ?-2022
    (Susan Teller Gallery, New York, NY), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    December 5, 2022-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Karamu Artists Inc.: Printmaking, Race, and Community. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 23-August 17, 2025).
  • {{cite web|title=Pay Day|url=false|author=William E. Smith|year=1938|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.251