Social Media Share Tools
Object Details
- Artist
- William H. Johnson, born Florence, SC 1901-died Central Islip, NY 1970
- Exhibition Label
- Sowing presents a simple narrative of farm life suggestive of Johnson's upbringing in South Carolina, but the brilliant palette disguises elements of tension. The plow the man grips is stained with red streaks of iron-suffused earth. The woman's hand is tightly clenched as she holds the seed above the soil before releasing it. A ghost moon in the sky hints at things both visible and unseen.
- African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, 2012
- Credit Line
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation
- ca. 1940
- Object number
- 1967.59.1002
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Painting
- Medium
- oil on burlap
- Dimensions
- 38 1/2 x 45 3/4 in. (97.8 x 116.2 cm.)
- See more items in
- Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Topic
- African American
- Animal\donkey
- Occupation\farm\sowing
- Figure group\male and female
- Record ID
- saam_1967.59.1002
- Metadata Usage (text)
- Not determined
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk70302319a-5dbf-4050-8d9a-5f932a91081b
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.