Copied
Loïs Mailou Jones, Les Fétiches, 1938, oil on linen, 25 1⁄2 x 21 1⁄4 in. (64.7 x 54.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by Mrs. Norvin H. Green, Dr. R. Harlan, and Francis Musgrave, 1990.56
Copied
Artwork Details
- Title
- Les Fétiches
- Artist
- Date
- 1938
- Location
- Dimensions
- 25 1⁄2 x 21 1⁄4 in. (64.7 x 54.0 cm)
- Markings
- lower right: Lois M./Jones/-Paris '38 backing upper left in red ink: LOIS MAILOU JONES/LES FETICHES (underlined)
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase made possible by Mrs. Norvin H. Green, Dr. R. Harlan, and Francis Musgrave
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- oil on linen
- Classifications
- Keywords
- Group
- Figure group
- Dress — costume — mask
- Object Number
- 1990.56
Artwork Description
Jones spent many summers in France, where she enjoyed the same artistic and intellectual freedom as her peers. When her Paris teachers questioned the African themes in her paintings, Jones answered readily: if masters like Matisse and Picasso could use them, she said, "don't you think I should?" Jones taught at Howard University for many years thereafter, encouraging her students to travel to Africa to understand its art. The multiple masks and vivid red fetish figure suggest the artist's effort to draw strength and protection from her cultural heritage in the face of prejudice.
Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006
Exhibitions
October 1, 2021–May 18, 2025
Artist to Artist features paired artworks, each representing two figures whose trajectories intersected at a creatively crucial moment, whether as student and teacher, professional allies, or friends.
Related Posts
02/15/2023
The lives of Loïs Mailou Jones and Elizabeth Catlett intersected briefly but formatively in the 1930s at Howard University
SAAM