Pyromaniac (from Aberrations)

Lamar Baker, Pyromaniac (from Aberrations), ca. 1937, lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift by exchange from The Columbus Museum, Georgia, 1998.115.9
Copied Lamar Baker, Pyromaniac (from Aberrations), ca. 1937, lithograph, 13 3⁄4 x 10 3⁄4 in. (34.9 x 27.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift by exchange from The Columbus Museum, Georgia, 1998.115.9

Artwork Details

Title
Pyromaniac (from Aberrations)
Artist
Date
ca. 1937
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
13 3⁄4 x 10 3⁄4 in. (34.9 x 27.3 cm)
Credit Line
Gift by exchange from The Columbus Museum, Georgia
Mediums Description
lithograph
Classifications
Subjects
  • Occupation — crime — arsonist
  • Object — written matter — newspaper
  • Occupation — service — firefighter
  • State of being — phenomenon — dream
  • Architecture — vehicle — train
  • Disaster — fire
  • Figure group — male
Object Number
1998.115.9
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1998.115.9

Artwork Description

Born and raised in the Deep South, Lamar Baker often illustrated racial and social injustices he had witnessed firsthand. His artistic goal, he said, was to make "social and moral comments by way of the lithographer's art." In his Aberrations series, including Sadist and Pyromaniac, he captures the darker side of humanity he encountered residing in New York from 1935 to 1950. Inspired by surrealism and social realism, these lithographs suggest disturbing and nefarious reveries among seemingly harmless subway riders. Baker's choice of details--a sign for Times Square, an advertisement for Smith Brothers cough drops, and newspapers--ground his scenes in contemporary life, unmasking the perceived degeneracy and depravity of working-class America.