Artwork Details
- Title
- Portrait of the Black Madonna
- Artist
- Date
- 1987
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 36 x 48 in. (91.4 x 121.9 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of the Andrews Humphrey Family Foundation
- Mediums Description
- oil and collage on canvas
- Classifications
- Keywords
- Still life — flower
- African American
- Figure female — waist length
- Object Number
- 2012.3.2
Artwork Description
Portrait of Black Madonna seems to be a straightforward image of a woman. Her arms, the shawl around her shoulders, and the flowers are formed of pieces of painted cloth. The spout of the coffee pot is three-dimensional -- Andrews worked a scrap of fabric around a piece of wood. Just above it, a zipper confirms that the fabric was cut from a discarded item of clothing. The collaged elements -- which by the late 1980s were a hallmark of Andrews's work -- give dimension and tactile reality to the canvas. Portrait of Black Madonna is not only a picture of a woman and the joy and responsibility associated with motherhood; it also honors the strength and resiliency of women throughout the world.
African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, 2012