Les Fétiches

Loïs Mailou Jones, Les Fétiches, 1938, oil on linen, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by Mrs. Norvin H. Green, Dr. R. Harlan, and Francis Musgrave, 1990.56
Copied Loïs Mailou Jones, Les Fétiches, 1938, oil on linen, 25 1⁄2 x 21 1⁄4 in. (64.7 x 54.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by Mrs. Norvin H. Green, Dr. R. Harlan, and Francis Musgrave, 1990.56

Artwork Details

Title
Les Fétiches
Artist
Date
1938
Location
Dimensions
25 1⁄2 x 21 1⁄4 in. (64.7 x 54.0 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by Mrs. Norvin H. Green, Dr. R. Harlan, and Francis Musgrave
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on linen
Classifications
Subjects
  • Dress — costume — mask
  • Figure group
Object Number
1990.56
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1990.56

Artwork Description

African masks dance and collide within the dark void of Loïs Mailou Jones's Les Fétiches. This painting marked a dramatic departure from the impressionist landscapes and still lifes of Jones's early career. Responding to those who criticized her change in style, Jones claimed this avant-garde approach as her birthright as a Black American, stating, "I had to remind them of Modigliani and Picasso and of all the French artists using the inspiration of Africa, and that if anybody had the right to use it, I had it, it was my heritage."
 

Exhibitions

Media - 1967.129 - SAAM-1967.129_1 - 65164
Artist to Artist
October 1, 2021–May 18, 2025
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Artist to Artist features paired artworks, each representing two figures whose trajectories intersected at a creatively crucial moment, whether as student and teacher, professional allies, or friends.

Related Posts

Side by side artworks. On the left: a painting with African mask references. On the right: a black sculpture, also with African mask references.
From the CollectionWomen Artists02/15/2023
Artist to Artist: Loïs Mailou Jones and Elizabeth Catlett
The lives of Loïs Mailou Jones and Elizabeth Catlett intersected briefly but formatively in the 1930s at Howard University
SAAM