The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

Little Joy

Little Joy

1940
(American, 1913–1997)
Platemark: 22.7 x 17.5 cm (8 15/16 x 6 7/8 in.); Sheet: 28.6 x 23.4 cm (11 1/4 x 9 3/16 in.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

William E. Smith’s prints were included in a 1942 exhibition of Karamu House artists organized at New York’s Associated American Artists Galleries and sponsored by a committee including cultural figures such as Langston Hughes, Alain Locke, and Carl Van Vechten. The show traveled to Philadelphia’s Temple University and brought national attention to the Karamu House printmaking workshop.

Description

This linocut was created by William E. Smith while he was involved in the printmaking workshop at Karamu House, a community art center founded in 1915 that is still active in Cleveland today. Created by carving into a smooth linoleum block, linocut is an accessible technique that was favored at Karamu for its accessibility and democracy. Smith used it to evocatively depict the lives of Black Clevelanders—here, a figure who meets the viewer’s gaze confidently and directly.
  • 2022
    (Lusenhop Fine Art, Cleveland Heights, OH), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    June 6, 2022-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Little Joy|url=false|author=William E. Smith|year=1940|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.56