Early Morning Work

William H. Johnson, Early Morning Work, ca. 1940, oil on burlap, 38 ¹⁄₂ x 45 ⁵⁄₈ in. (97.8 x 115.9 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.1082

Artwork Details

Title: Early Morning Work
Artist: William H. Johnson
Date: ca. 1940
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 38 ¹⁄₂ x 45 ⁵⁄₈ in. (97.8 x 115.9 cm.)
Credit Line: Gift of the Harmon Foundation
Mediums: oil
Mediums Description: oil on burlap
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Animal — donkey
African American
Figure group — family
Object Number: 1967.59.1082
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1967.59.1082

Artwork Description

Early Morning Work presents a clear narrative: the day’s chores must be done. But the scene is more than a reminiscence of farm life. It affirms the idea that Southern blacks maintained connections with the cultural heritage of Africa. Though seemingly primitive, the flattened forms and deliberately naïve perspective Johnson used were informed by years of artistic discipline. The man’s profile is a beautifully rendered drawing of an African mask. Hands and mule hoofs are disproportionately large, while the horizontal stripes offer a visual cadence punctuated by the circular forms of a wheel and chickens pecking at the ground.

African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, 2012