Coyotes Came Out of the Desert

Matsusaburo George Hibi, Coyotes Came Out of the Desert, 1945, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 2023.5, © 2024, Ibuki Hibi Lee
Copied Matsusaburo George Hibi, Coyotes Came Out of the Desert, 1945, oil on canvas, 26 15⁄16 × 23 × 1 1⁄2 in. (68.4 × 58.4 × 3.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 2023.5, © 2024, Ibuki Hibi Lee

Artwork Details

Title
Coyotes Came Out of the Desert
Artist
Date
1945
Location
Dimensions
26 15⁄16 × 23 × 1 1⁄2 in. (68.4 × 58.4 × 3.8 cm)
Copyright
© 2024, Ibuki Hibi Lee
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Highlights
Subjects
  • Landscape — time — night
  • Animal — coyote
  • Architecture Exterior
Object Number
2023.5
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2023.5

Artwork Description

In 1942 the US government mandated that Japanese Americans be removed from the West Coast and interned for the duration of World War II. As a result, painter Matsusaburo George Hibi was incarcerated for more than three years, mostly at the Topaz Relocation Camp in central Utah.
While at Topaz, Hibi created this painting, which may depict an actual event. An inscription on the back of the canvas reads: "It was a hard winter in Topaz the snow [lay] deep. Big [coyotes] came out of the desert right up to the camps and no one dared to go out of the doors." 
The painting masterfully conveys an atmosphere of dread and unease, emotions Hibi likely felt as he lived under surveillance and grappled with the loss of his freedoms.