Head of a Black Woman
<p>In <em>Head of a Black Woman</em>, Sargent Claude Johnson combined abstract elements drawn from African sculpture and masks—such as the regularly scored marks that describe hair—with a naturalistic portrayal of the woman’s physiognomy. In the 1920s and 1930s, writer and philosopher Alain Locke urged artists to seek aesthetic inspiration from African art, and Johnson frequently followed this advice. Here, by subtly stylizing the woman’s appearance, Johnson made this delicate terracotta sculpture highly individual yet also timeless and universal.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1935
- Medium
- Terracotta
- Dimensions
- Sculpture: 20.6 × 10.5 × 13.3 cm (8 1/8 × 4 3/16 × 5 1/4 in.); Base: 7.9 × 10.8 × 10.2 cm (3 1/8 × 4 5/16 × 4 1/16 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Sargent Claude Johnson
Artist
Painting
Sargent Claude Johnson was one of the first African-American artists working in California to achieve a national reputation. He was known for Abstract Figurative and Early Modern styles. He was a painter, potter, ceramicist, printmaker, graphic artist, sculptor, and carver. He worked in a variety of media, including ceramics, clay, stone, wood, terra cotta, tiled murals, watercolor, oil on canvas, porcelain enamel on steel, and lithography. Despite having lived in San Francisco for most of his adult life, Johnson is considered one of the stellar artists of the Harlem Renaissance.
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Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Sargent Claude Johnson
- Year
- 1935
- Medium
- Terracotta
- Dimensions
- Sculpture: 20.6 × 10.5 × 13.3 cm (8 1/8 × 4 3/16 × 5 1/4 in.); Base: 7.9 × 10.8 × 10.2 cm (3 1/8 × 4 5/16 × 4 1/16 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1935-049905
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified