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Loïs Mailou Jones, Moon Masque, 1971, oil and collage on canvas, 41 x 30 1⁄8 in. (104.1 x 76.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 2006.24.5
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Moon Masque
- Artist
- Date
- 1971
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 41 x 30 1⁄8 in. (104.1 x 76.4 cm)
- Credit Line
- Bequest of the artist
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- oil and collage on canvas
- Classifications
- Highlights
- Keywords
- Landscape — celestial — moon
- Dress — costume — mask
- Abstract
- Object Number
- 2006.24.5
Artwork Description
At the center of Moon Masque is a papier-mâché replica of a heart-shaped white Kwele mask from Zaire surrounded by masklike profiles and designs drawn from Ethiopian textiles. Though stylized, the faces resemble actual individuals whose profiles are juxtaposed with tears falling from the eyes of the mask. It is tempting to speculate that the mask, representing heritage and tradition, weeps for the situation of contemporary African peoples.
African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, 2012
Exhibitions
January 18, 2019–January 18, 2019
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is home to one of the most significant collections of African American art in the world. Highlights from this collection are traveling to several cities across the United States in the exhibition African American Art in the 20th Century.