The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 23, 2024

Politics

Politics

1940
(American, 1913–1997)
linocut
Platemark: 23.1 x 17.3 cm (9 1/8 x 6 13/16 in.); Sheet: 29.5 x 24.1 cm (11 5/8 x 9 1/2 in.)
Severance and Greta Millikin Trust 2022.57
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

This print was 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 group of men dramatically lit as they gather in a dark alley.
  • 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
  • Exhibit by Karamu Artists. Exh. Cat. New York: Associated American Artists, 1942.
  • Exhibit by Karamu Artists. Associated American Artists Galleries, New York (January 7–22, 1942); Temple University, Philadelphia (February 2–16, 1942).
  • {{cite web|title=Politics|url=false|author=William E. Smith|year=1940|access-date=23 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.57