Untitled (Bus)

Mose Tolliver, Untitled (Bus), ca. 1982, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak, 1983.57
Copied Mose Tolliver, Untitled (Bus), ca. 1982, oil on plywood, 15 3⁄4 x 23 1⁄2 in. (40.0 x 59.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak, 1983.57

Artwork Details

Title
Untitled (Bus)
Artist
Date
ca. 1982
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
15 3⁄4 x 23 1⁄2 in. (40.0 x 59.6 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on plywood
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture — vehicle — bus
Object Number
1983.57

Artwork Description

This bus has no passengers, evoking the Montgomery bus boycott of the 1950s when blacks refused to ride the public buses until they could sit where they wanted (Lee Kogan, "Mose Tolliver: Picture Maker," Folk Art, Fall 1993). The bright colors and childlike shapes create a strangely cheerful image, given that it shows a dangerous episode from the early struggle for civil rights.