John Henry

Frederick Brown, John Henry, 1979, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Gerald L. Pearson, 1995.22.1, © 1979, Frederick J. Brown

John Henry tells a story of pathos and protest that lives in the folklore and ballads of America. Countless versions exist, but all of them speak of a slave freed at the end of the Civil War who worked for the C&O Railway and possessed near superhuman strength. Brown, who grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood near the steel mills in South Chicago, blends elements of the original John Henry legend with the lives of contemporary steelworkers concerned about layoffs when the American steel industry began outsourcing jobs abroad. Like the narrator in a Greek tragedy, he has linked the story with contemporary experience.

African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, 2012

Title

John Henry

Artist

Frederick Brown

Date

1979

Location

Not on view

Dimensions