Tribute to the American Working People

Honoré Sharrer, Tribute to the American Working People, 1951, oil on composition board, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.97
Honoré Sharrer, Tribute to the American Working People, 1951, oil on composition board, overall: 38 3477 14 in. (98.5196.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.97

Artwork Details

Title
Tribute to the American Working People
Date
1951
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
overall: 38 3477 14 in. (98.5196.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on composition board
Classifications
Subjects
  • Recreation — leisure — conversation
  • Occupation — industry
  • Occupation — farm — harvesting
  • Architecture Interior — education
  • Figure group
Object Number
1986.6.97

Artwork Description

For Tribute to the American Working People, Sharrer, who was employed as a shipyard welder during World War II, employed the polyptych format of medieval Italian religious paintings in which a central panel features a saint and smaller flanking panels depict events in his life. Here the “saint” is recreated as a series of factory workers. The side panels---showing a county fair, a schoolroom, a barnyard scene, and the parlor of a modest home---are drawn from the fabric of American life. The people---whether wearing hair curlers or dancing a jog---are shown simply in the act of living, revealing Sharrer’s hope “to express a sense of humanity.”


Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, 2014

Works by this artist (8 items)

John Cage, Not Wanting to Say Anything about Marcel, Lithograph A, 1969, color lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1972.96
Not Wanting to Say Anything about Marcel, Lithograph A
Date1969
color lithograph on paper
Not on view
John Cage, Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Seven, 1978, color etching with hard ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.5.7
Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Seven
Date1978
color etching with hard ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects
Not on view
John Cage, Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Five, 1978, hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.5.5
Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Five
Date1978
hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects
Not on view
John Cage, Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Six, 1978, color etching with hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching and found objects, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.5.6
Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Six
Date1978
color etching with hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching and found objects
Not on view

Audio

Stop 151: Tribute to the American Working People

Tribute to the American Working People
2009, oil on composition board

HONORÉ SHARRER
Born: West Point, New York 1920– Died: Washington, District of Columbia

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      Exhibitions

      Media - 1986.6.100 - SAAM-1986.6.100_2 - 135134
      Modern American Realism: Highlights from the Sara Roby Foundation Collection
      This exhibition presents some of the most treasured paintings and sculpture from SAAM’s permanent collection, including artworks by Will Barnet, Isabel Bishop, Paul Cadmus, Edward Hopper, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jacob Lawrence, George Tooker, among others.

      More Artworks from the Collection

      Al Blaustein, Family and Friends, ca. 1967, pen and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1985.30.4
      Family and Friends
      Dateca. 1967
      pen and ink and pencil on paper
      Not on view
      William H. Johnson, Soldiers Standing with Rifles, ca. 1941-1942, recto: pen and ink and pencil on paper
verso: pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.564R-V
      Soldiers Standing with Rifles
      Dateca. 1941-1942
      recto: pen and ink and pencil on paper verso: pencil on paper
      Not on view
      William H. Johnson, Storefront Church, ca. 1940-1941, pen and ink and pencil with wash on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.566
      Storefront Church
      Dateca. 1940-1941
      pen and ink and pencil with wash on paper
      Not on view
      William H. Johnson, Mountains and Blossoming Trees, Norway, ca. 1935-1938, brush and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.127
      Mountains and Blossoming Trees, Norway
      Dateca. 1935-1938
      brush and ink and pencil on paper
      Not on view