School’s Out

Allan Rohan Crite, School's Out, 1936, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from General Services Administration, 1971.447.18
Copied Allan Rohan Crite, School's Out, 1936, oil on canvas, 30 1⁄4 x 36 1⁄8 in. (76.9 x 91.8 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from General Services Administration, 1971.447.18

Artwork Details

Title
School’s Out
Artist
Date
1936
Location
Dimensions
30 1⁄4 x 36 1⁄8 in. (76.9 x 91.8 cm.)
Credit Line
Transfer from General Services Administration
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • New Deal — Works Progress Administration, Federal Art Project — Massachusetts
  • African American
  • Figure group — female
  • Cityscape — street
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — apartment
  • Architecture Exterior — education
Object Number
1971.447.18
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1971.447.18

Artwork Description

Crite thought of himself as an artist-reporter whose assignment was to capture the daily lives of ordinary people. His skill as an acute observer of American life is apparent in School's Out, which shows dozens of children leaving the annex of Everett elementary school in Boston's South End at a time when boys and girls were taught separately. Although Crite acknowledged that School's Out may reflect a romanticized view, it also presents a universal statement about community, stability, and the bonds of family life.


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