The Guardian

Earlie Hudnall, Jr., The Guardian, 1990, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1994.23.4, © 1990, Earlie Hudnall, Jr.
Earlie Hudnall, Jr., The Guardian, 1990, gelatin silver print, sheet: 19 7⁄8 x 16 in. (50.4 x 40.7 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1994.23.4, © 1990, Earlie Hudnall, Jr.

Artwork Details

Title
The Guardian
Artist
Date
1990
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 19 7⁄8 x 16 in. (50.4 x 40.7 cm.)
Copyright
© 1990, Earlie Hudnall, Jr.
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums Description
gelatin silver print
Classifications
Highlights
Subjects
  • Architecture Exterior
  • Object — other — flag
  • Dress — accessory — eye wear
  • Figure group — male and child
  • African American
  • Landscape
Object Number
1994.23.4
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1994.23.4

Artwork Description

Many of Hudnall’s photographs focus on children and the elderly. “A unique commonality exists between young and old,” he observes, “because there is always a continuity between the past and the future. It is this commonality which I strive to depict in my work.” In The Guardian, a father enfolds his young daughter as they stand along a street reflected in the mirrored lenses of his glasses. The American flag tucked behind his ear suggests more – that in addition to warmth and affection, he is passing on a sense of community and patriotic pride.


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

Works by this artist (3 items)

Edward Kienholz, Nancy Reddin Kienholz, Sollie 17, 1979-1980, mixed media construction, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2001.58, © 1980, Nancy Reddin Kienholz
Sollie 17
Artist
Date1979-1980
mixed media construction
Not on view
Edward Kienholz, Nancy Reddin Kienholz, Drawing for Sollie 17, 1980, mixed media construction, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of G & W Investments, 2001.59A-D, © 1980, Nancy Reddin Kienholz
Drawing for Sollie 17
Artist
Date1980
mixed media construction
Not on view
Edward Kienholz, Untitled, n.d., encaustic on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Patricia Colleen McCall, 1982.125
Untitled
Artist
Daten.d.
encaustic on fiberboard
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Browse All Artworks
Jesús Moroles, Lapstrake I, 1980, Georgia gray granite, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Alton and Emily Steiner, 2002.82
Lapstrake I
Artist
Date1980
Georgia gray granite
Not on view
John Safer, Chandelle, 1969, revised 2013, Lucite, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2007.23
Chandelle
Artist
Date1969, revised 2013
Lucite
Not on view
Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Shell), early 1930s, mixed media: paperboard, paper, shells, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, 1985.64.37
Untitled (Shell)
Artist
Dateearly 1930s
mixed media: paperboard, paper, shells
Not on view
Emery Blagdon, The Healing Machine, ca. 1955-1986, mixed media, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment and gift of Dan Dryden, friend of Emery Blagdon, the Kohler Foundation, Inc., and John E. and Douglas O. Robson, from the Margaret Z. Robson Collection, VR.2014.49.GRP
The Healing Machine
Artist
Dateca. 1955-1986
mixed media
On view