Resting

Claude Clark, Resting, 1944, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.57.32
Claude Clark, Resting, 1944, oil on canvas, 3025 in. (76.263.4 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.57.32

Artwork Details

Title
Resting
Artist
Date
1944
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
3025 in. (76.263.4 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Harmon Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • State of being — mood — weariness
  • Figure male — full length
  • Dress — accessory — hat
  • African American
  • Landscape
Object Number
1967.57.32

Artwork Description

The title, Resting, coupled with the man's bare feet and everyday clothes, suggest that he is taking a momentary break from farm work. Although his eyes are hidden by a red hat, his face is attentive as he regards the unseen viewer. The palette of ochres, blues, reds, and greens and the loose shapes of his body and the landscape behind him are liberally laid down with a palette knife. Although Clark was born in Georgia, where his father worked as a tenant farmer, his family was part of the great migration of African Americans who moved from rural southern towns to the urban North in the 1920s.

African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, 2012

Works by this artist (5 items)

Frederick Brown, Junior Wells, 1989, oil on linen, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by William Cost Johnson, George W. Story, Robert J. Oliver and Mrs. Barwig-Wagner, 1990.31
Junior Wells
Date1989
oil on linen
Not on view
Frederick Brown, Green Window, 1970, oil, silica, and glue on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Gerald L. Pearson, 1995.22.2, © 1970, Frederick J. Brown
Green Window
Date1970
oil, silica, and glue on canvas
Not on view
Frederick Brown, John Henry, 1979, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Gerald L. Pearson, 1995.22.1, © 1979, Frederick J. Brown
John Henry
Date1979
oil on canvas
Not on view
Frederick Brown, Stagger Lee, 1983, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1991.40, © 1983, Frederick J. Brown
Stagger Lee
Date1983
oil on canvas
Not on view