Glad You Dead You Rascal You

Media - 1997.124.87 - SAAM-1997.124.87_1 - 13165
Copied Herbert Singleton, Glad You Dead You Rascal You, ca. 1990, painted cypress, 22 1469 341 12 in. (56.5177.23.8 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.87

Artwork Details

Title
Glad You Dead You Rascal You
Date
ca. 1990
Dimensions
22 1469 341 12 in. (56.5177.23.8 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums
Mediums Description
painted cypress
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure group
  • African American
  • Ceremony — funeral
Object Number
1997.124.87

Artwork Description

This carving by Herbert Singleton shows a New Orleans jazz funeral, with mourners walking slowly behind the procession and musicians dancing ahead (Lynda Hartigan, African American Art: Recent Acquisitions, 1999/2000). Many of Singleton’s paintings depict African American life in New Orleans, emphasizing the city’s problems with drugs, shootings, and prostitution. The title of this piece is a line adapted from the 1929 song written by jazz musician Sam Theard and made famous by Louis Armstrong.

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