Decorating the White House with Smithsonian Art
Continuing a Washington tradition, the Obamas selected artwork from the Smithsonian collections to hang in their historic home
- By Abby Callard
- Smithsonian.com, August 04, 2009
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(William H. Johnson / Smithsonian American Art Museum)
Folk Family
William H. Johnson
c.1944
Oil on plywood
Smithsonian American Art Museum
“Family is a subject he did so often,” Broun says. “They are all more or less related to his own family.” In this painting, each member has a unique skin tone as well, Broun observes. “He uses it as a way to portray racial identity and commitment,” she adds. Johnson altered his image of himself through the years. By the end of his career he was doing self-portraits in which appeared very dark, whereas early on he was lighter skinned as he was in photographs, she says.
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Comments (5)
Am hunting a picture of an Indian Lady Sarah Brandon that my grandmother told me had hung in the White house as she was My grandmothers grandmother any information you can give me on this would be very helpful.
Posted by Cheri Mikes on August 4,2010 | 11:12 PM
Regarding these comments about Alma Thomas'"Watusi", I am reminded of the comment attributed to Pablo Picasso that, "the bad artists imitate, the great artists steal." Thomas' work here is a transformation of the Matisse painting. There is power in the decision to reverse colors and to change perspective from "L'escargot,"giving "Watusi" integrity to stand on its own as a distinctive piece.
Posted by Marshall Waddell on October 15,2009 | 04:11 PM
And just how much did the taxpayers of the United States contribute to this artist for this counterfeit "art"?
Will the Smithsonian be issuing a Correction in the next issue?
What a disgrace.
Posted by EPR on October 14,2009 | 10:56 PM
This painting is a direct copy (rotated 90 degrees) of Henri Matisse, L'escargot.
The comment that the artist is "trying to mix together different styles such as Henri Matisse’s cutouts" was an understatement!
This "work" if you want to call it "art" does not belong in a national museum!
The artist seems to be a bit of a scam artist rather than someone with real talent.
Posted by DEW on October 8,2009 | 07:30 PM
This isn't just "mixing together" influences including Matisse. It is a direct copy of a Matisse work, just rotated 90 degrees and with the colors switched around:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/strifu/2205522821
Posted by MDC on August 4,2009 | 01:27 AM