Blackberry Woman

Richmond Barthé, Blackberry Woman, modeled by 1930, cast 1932, bronze, 35 1212 1416 14 in. (90.131.141.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2001.6

Artwork Details

Title
Blackberry Woman
Date
modeled by 1930, cast 1932
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
35 1212 1416 14 in. (90.131.141.3 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums Description
bronze
Classifications
Subjects
  • African American
  • Figure female — full length
  • Occupation — domestic — gathering
  • Object — other — basket
Object Number
2001.6

Artwork Description

The angular grace of Blackberry Woman speaks of stoicism and constancy. The subject – an African American woman in a simple dress who is balancing a basket on her head – is one Barthé may well have seen on market day as a boy growing up in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. But she is more than an echo of an image once observed. She has the frontal, linear form found in West African sculpture, which Barthé first saw in Chicago, in an exhibition during “The Negro in Art Week” in November 1927, when he was a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.


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

Works by this artist (6 items)

Mark di Suvero, Untitled, 1967, welded steel and stainless steel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Edith S. and Arthur J. Levin, 2005.5.20A-B
Untitled
Date1967
welded steel and stainless steel
On view
Mark di Suvero, Preliminary Maquette for Motu Viget, 1974, welded steel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1979.159.49, © 1974, Mark di Suvero
Preliminary Maquette for Motu Viget
Date1974
welded steel
On view
Mark di Suvero, Revised Maquette for Motu Viget, 1976, welded steel, rubber, nylon, photograph on plywood base, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1979.159.6
Revised Maquette for Motu Viget
Date1976
welded steel, rubber, nylon, photograph on plywood base
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Robert Hudson, Maquette for Tlingit, 1979, welded steel, assembled and painted, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1980.49.18
Maquette for Tlingit
Date1979
welded steel, assembled and painted
Not on view
Barbara Neijna, Maquette for Right Turn on White, 1978, cut and bent stainless steel on fiberboard base, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1979.159.47
Maquette for Right Turn on White
Date1978
cut and bent stainless steel on fiberboard base
Not on view
William Goodman, Maquette for Solirio, 1973-1974, hammered, welded and painted steel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1979.159.9
Maquette for Solirio
Date1973-1974
hammered, welded and painted steel
Not on view
Duayne Hatchett, Maquette for Equilateral Six, 1975, welded and painted aluminum on steel base, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1979.159.11
Maquette for Equilateral Six
Date1975
welded and painted aluminum on steel base
Not on view