Blind Musician

William H. Johnson, Blind Musician, ca. 1940, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.670
Copied William H. Johnson, Blind Musician, ca. 1940, oil on plywood, 36 3⁄8 x 28 1⁄4 in. (92.2 x 71.6 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.670

Artwork Details

Title
Blind Musician
Artist
Date
ca. 1940
Location
Dimensions
36 3⁄8 x 28 1⁄4 in. (92.2 x 71.6 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Harmon Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on plywood
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure group
  • African American
  • Performing arts — music — guitar
Object Number
1967.59.670
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1967.59.670

Artwork Description

William H. Johnson’s paintings of African Americans were often based on scenes he remembered from his life in South Carolina and later in Harlem. Johnson may have based Blind Musician on such singers as Blind Boy Fuller, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, or the Reverend Gary Davis (Powell, Homecoming: The Art and Life of William H. Johnson, 1991). These performers attracted notice in the South and made their way to Chicago and New York City, where their recordings helped make the blues tradition familiar to mainstream audiences. The background of crosshatched lines signals that these itinerant musicians belong in no particular place, and must make their way with only their voices, guitar, and tambourine.