Jacobia Hotel

William H. Johnson, Jacobia Hotel, 1930, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.741
Copied William H. Johnson, Jacobia Hotel, 1930, oil on canvas, 19 7⁄8 x 23 3⁄4 in. (50.5 x 60.4 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.741

Artwork Details

Title
Jacobia Hotel
Artist
Date
1930
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
19 7⁄8 x 23 3⁄4 in. (50.5 x 60.4 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Harmon Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture Exterior — commercial — Jacobia Hotel
  • Architecture Exterior — commercial — hotel
Object Number
1967.59.741
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1967.59.741

Artwork Description

This painting shows an old hotel in Florence, South Carolina, that was once a fashionable destination for visitors coming through by train. In the 1930s the Jacobia had fallen into disrepair and was used as a brothel. William H. Johnson painted this scene in the expressionist style that he had adopted while in Europe, exaggerating the crooked walls and sloping floors so that the structure appears ready to collapse.