Luce Foundation Center

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Open daily, 11:30 a.m.–7 p.m.

The nation’s first collection of American art, an unparalleled record of the American experience.

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Renwick Gallery Stairwwell

Renwick Gallery

Open daily, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

Located just feet from the White House, a branch of the museum that is home the nation's collection of contemporary craft and decorative art.

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How Do I Research My Art?

Want to learn more about the painting you found while clearing out the attic? For answers, be prepared for a little detective work.

How to Care for Your Collections

Regardless of the monetary value of your artwork, if it is personally meaningful, you should consider having the object conserved.

Recording a Changing Nation

This resource uses images from photographic surveys in 55 communities in 30 states across the United States as source documents to spark sustained inquiry.

Critical Thinking in Action

These 60-to-95-minute units pair thinking patterns with works of art to instill a thinking disposition transferable across classroom curriculum and into the wider world.

Director’s Circle

A national membership group of museum friends who share a love of American art and craft and our commitment to celebrating the extraordinary creativity of our nation’s artists.

A membership group for young professionals who are interested in immersing themselves in the American art experience.

Head from a Ball Toss Game

Media - 1986.65.301 - SAAM-1986.65.301_2 - 125850

Media - 1986.65.301 - SAAM-1986.65.301_3 - 125851

Media - 1986.65.301 - SAAM-1986.65.301_4 - 125852

Copied Head from a Ball Toss Game, after 1878, carved and painted wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.301

Free to use

Artwork Details

Title: Head from a Ball Toss Game
Manufacturer: C. W. F. Dare Company
Date: after 1878
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 11 ¹⁄₂ x 6 ⁷⁄₈ x 8 ¹⁄₈ in. (29.2 x 17.4 x 20.5 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums: wood
Mediums Description: carved and painted wood
Classifications: Sculpture
Keywords: African-American
Figure male — head
African American
Object Number: 1986.65.301
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.65.301

Artwork Description

Props like this carved head were used until the 1930s at Coney Island's Steeplechase Park for a game known as "African Dodger." Originally, players threw balls at a black man and were rewarded for direct hits. Wooden heads eventually replaced live targets. This grotesquely carved head reflects a dark history of racism and objectification.

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006