Untitled (Standing Woman)
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Object Label
This terracotta figure of a woman was created by the San Francisco–based artist Sargent Claude Johnson in the 1930s, as Black artists derived inspiration from the New Negro Movement and its leader Alain Locke, whose encouragement of art that celebrated contemporary Black life and African ancestral traditions led Johnson to refer to African sculpture in the mask-like form of the face seen here. Employing a modernist reduction of form in the simplified, cylindrical body, Johnson created work that exudes a quiet gravity and power, within a practice he could only pursue outside his various jobs until he received W.P.A. Federal Art Project commissions in 1937 and 1938.
Caption
Sargent Claude Johnson American, 1888–1967. Untitled (Standing Woman), ca. 1933–1935. Terracotta, paint, surface coating, Overall: 14 1/4 x 4 x 3 1/2 in. (36.2 x 10.2 x 8.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Estate of Emil Fuchs and Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Steinhauer, by exchange, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, and Mary Smith Dorward Fund, 2010.2. Orphaned work (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2010.2_front_PS6.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Untitled (Standing Woman)
Date
ca. 1933–1935
Medium
Terracotta, paint, surface coating
Classification
Dimensions
Overall: 14 1/4 x 4 x 3 1/2 in. (36.2 x 10.2 x 8.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Estate of Emil Fuchs and Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Steinhauer, by exchange, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, and Mary Smith Dorward Fund
Accession Number
2010.2
Rights
Orphaned work
After diligent research, the Museum is unable to locate contact information for the artist or artist's estate, or there are no known living heirs.Copyright for this work may be controlled by the artist, the artist's estate, or other rights holders. A more detailed analysis of its rights history may, however, place it in the public domain. The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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