Bar and Grill

Jacob Lawrence, Bar and Grill, 1941, gouache on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Henry Ward Ranger through the National Academy of Design, 2010.52
Jacob Lawrence, Bar and Grill, 1941, gouache on paper, 16 3422 34 in. (42.557.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Henry Ward Ranger through the National Academy of Design, 2010.52

Artwork Details

Title
Bar and Grill
Date
1941
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
16 3422 34 in. (42.557.8 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of Henry Ward Ranger through the National Academy of Design
Mediums Description
gouache on paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure group
  • Recreation — leisure — eating and drinking
  • Architecture Interior — commercial — tavern
Object Number
2010.52

Artwork Description

In New Orleans, Lawrence experienced firsthand the daily reality of Jim Crow segregation, where legislation required that he ride in the back of city buses and live in a racially segregated neighborhood. His anger is apparent in Bar and Grill, which shows the interior of a café with a wall that divides the space into two distinct realms – one occupied by whites, the other by blacks. Lawrence says little about the individuals beyond their skin color and the way they are treated (customers on the left are cooled by a ceiling fan), but the skewed vantage point from behind the bar emphasizes the artificiality of the two separate worlds.


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

Works by this artist (10 items)

Earlie Hudnall, Jr., Hip Hop, 1993, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1994.23.7, © 1993, Earlie Hudnall, Jr.
Hip Hop
Date1993
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Earlie Hudnall, Jr., Looking Out, 1991, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1994.23.6, © 1991, Earlie Hudnall, Jr.
Looking Out
Date1991
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Earlie Hudnall, Jr., Street Champion, 1986, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1994.23.5, © 1986, Earlie Hudnall, Jr.
Street Champion
Date1986
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Earlie Hudnall, Jr., The Guardian, 1990, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1994.23.4, © 1990, Earlie Hudnall, Jr.
The Guardian
Date1990
gelatin silver print
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Bently
Dateca. 1975
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Lure of the Sea
Dateca. 1975
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled, ca. 1945-1950, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Lewis and Jean Greenblatt, 2002.86.9
Untitled
Dateca. 1945-1950
gelatin silver print
Not on view