Indian House

Frank Jones, Indian House, ca. 1968-1969, colored pencil on paper mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.175
Frank Jones, Indian House, ca. 1968-1969, colored pencil on paper mounted on paperboard, 22 5822 58 in. (57.557.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.175

Artwork Details

Title
Indian House
Artist
Date
ca. 1968-1969
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
22 5822 58 in. (57.557.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
colored pencil on paper mounted on paperboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture — domestic — house
  • Fantasy — animal
Object Number
1986.65.175

Artwork Description

Frank Jones said he started seeing “haints” (haunts or ghosts) and devils when he was a boy of about nine, and he drew his first interpretations of them around that time. The drawings that he became known for were made later, between 1961 and 1964, during the last of three prison sentences that collectively comprised more than a third of his life. Drawn in colors that Jones called those of “smoke and fire,” devils gamble, drink, or appear in the form of a woman, depicting the evils that could drag a man down. His frequent use of clocks references an early prison job as a courthouse clock winder as well as the metaphor of “doing time.”

Works by this artist (1036 items)

William H. Johnson, Breakdown with Flat Tire, ca. 1940-1941, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.587
Breakdown with Flat Tire
Dateca. 1940-1941
oil on plywood
On view
William H. Johnson, Young Pastry Cook, ca. 1928-1930, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.693
Young Pastry Cook
Dateca. 1928-1930
oil on canvas
On view
William H. Johnson, Little Sweet, 1944, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.1076
Little Sweet
Date1944
oil on paperboard
On view
William H. Johnson, Portrait of a Man, ca. 1935-1938, oil on burlap, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.814
Portrait of a Man
Dateca. 1935-1938
oil on burlap
On view

More Artworks from the Collection

Untitled
Date1979
ink, colored ink, pencil and pastel on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Portrait of a Woman in Profile, ca. 1944, recto: pen and ink and pencil on paper
verso: pen and ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.485R-V
Portrait of a Woman in Profile
Dateca. 1944
recto: pen and ink and pencil on paper verso: pen and ink on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Seated Female Nude, ca. 1939-1940, brush and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.247
Seated Female Nude
Dateca. 1939-1940
brush and ink and pencil on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Mountains, Norway, ca. 1935-1938, recto: brush and ink on paper
verso: brush and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.122R-V
Mountains, Norway
Dateca. 1935-1938
recto: brush and ink on paper verso: brush and ink and pencil on paper
Not on view