Café

William H. Johnson, Café, ca. 1939-1940, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.669
William H. Johnson, Café, ca. 1939-1940, oil on paperboard, 36 1228 38 in. (92.772.2 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.669

Artwork Details

Title
Café
Date
ca. 1939-1940
Dimensions
36 1228 38 in. (92.772.2 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Harmon Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on paperboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure group
  • Recreation — courting
  • African American
  • Dress — accessory — hat
  • Recreation — leisure — eating and drinking
  • Object — foodstuff — wine
Object Number
1967.59.669

Artwork Description

Johnson spent decades traveling the world, searching for the authentic spirit of ordinary people from different cultures. In the late 1930s, he found what he was looking for in his own African American community. The strong colors and silhouettes in this painting evoke the African art that Black artists and writers had embraced during the Harlem Renaissance. But this affectionate couple also had the fashionable flash of zoot-suiters in the big band era. Above the table, the two figures coolly take in the café scene; below, a tangle of legs and limbs hints at the erotic energy of a night on the town.

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006

Works by this artist (4 items)

Yayoi Kusama, Fire, ca. 1954, watercolor, pastel, ink, tempera on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John A. Benton and The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, 2019.32.3
Fire
Dateca. 1954
watercolor, pastel, ink, tempera on paper
Not on view
Yayoi Kusama, Deep Grief, 1954, watercolor, ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John A. Benton and The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, 2019.32.2
Deep Grief
Date1954
watercolor, ink on paper
Not on view
Yayoi Kusama, Autumn, 1953, watercolor, pastel, ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John A. Benton and The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, 2019.32.1
Autumn
Date1953
watercolor, pastel, ink on paper
Not on view
Yayoi Kusama, Forlorn Spot, 1953, watercolor, pastel, ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John A. Benton and The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, 2019.32.4
Forlorn Spot
Date1953
watercolor, pastel, ink on paper
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled, 1982, oil stick and waxed crayon on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Sam Rose and Julie Walters, 2018.16
Untitled
Date1982
oil stick and waxed crayon on paper
Not on view
Jeff Donaldson, Victory in Zimbabwe, 1980, mixed media on cardboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum Purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2019.1, © 2018, Estate of Jeff Donaldson
Victory in Zimbabwe
Date1980
mixed media on cardboard
Not on view
"Prophet" Royal Robertson, Space Gun Drawing, n.d., pencil, marker, paint on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1998.84.30
Space Gun Drawing
Daten.d.
pencil, marker, paint on paper
Not on view
Joseph Cornell, Flora, 1970, drawing, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, 1991.155.371
Flora
Date1970
drawing
Not on view