Moon Masque

Loïs Mailou Jones, Moon Masque, 1971, oil and collage on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 2006.24.5
Loïs Mailou Jones, Moon Masque, 1971, oil and collage on canvas, 41 x 30 1⁄8 in. (104.1 x 76.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 2006.24.5

Artwork Details

Title
Moon Masque
Artist
Date
1971
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
41 x 30 1⁄8 in. (104.1 x 76.4 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of the artist
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil and collage on canvas
Classifications
Highlights
Subjects
  • Dress — costume — mask
  • African
  • Landscape — celestial — moon
  • Abstract
Object Number
2006.24.5
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2006.24.5

Artwork Description

At the center of Moon Masque is a papier-mâché replica of a heart-shaped white Kwele mask from Zaire surrounded by masklike profiles and designs drawn from Ethiopian textiles. Though stylized, the faces resemble actual individuals whose profiles are juxtaposed with tears falling from the eyes of the mask. It is tempting to speculate that the mask, representing heritage and tradition, weeps for the situation of contemporary African peoples.


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

Works by this artist (23 items)

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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
Les Fétiches
Artist
Date1938
oil on linen
On view
Loïs Mailou Jones, Jardin du Luxembourg, ca. 1948, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Gladys P. Payne in honor of Alice P. Moore, 1990.7
Jardin du Luxembourg
Artist
Dateca. 1948
oil on canvas
Not on view
Loïs Mailou Jones, Greetings, ca. 1937-1948, pen and ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 2006.24.15
Greetings
Artist
Dateca. 1937-1948
pen and ink on paper
Not on view
Loïs Mailou Jones, We Shall Overcome, 1988, watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 2006.24.8
We Shall Overcome
Artist
Date1988
watercolor on paper
Not on view

Exhibitions

Media - 1995.22.1 - SAAM-1995.22.1_1 - 65784
African American Art in the 20th Century
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is home to one of the most significant collections of African American art in the world.

More Artworks from the Collection

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Rudy Fernandez, Escape, 1987, painted wood, neon, lead and oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Frank K. Ribelin, 1988.48
Escape
Artist
Date1987
painted wood, neon, lead and oil on canvas
Not on view
Joseph Gering, "Industry, self-denial, and temperance are the laws of prosperity for men and states; without them advance in the arts and in wealth means only corruption and decay through luxury and vice. With them progress in the arts and increasing wealth are the prime conditions of an advancing civilization which is sound enough to endure." --William Graham Sumner on the conditions of prosperity and progress. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man., 1955, mixed media: oil, nails, and string on wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.102
“Industry, self-denial, and temperance are the laws of…
Artist
Date1955
mixed media: oil, nails, and string on wood
Not on view
Unidentified (American), (Underpass--New York), 1933-1934, oil on photograph on canvas mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Internal Revenue Service through the General Services Administration , 1962.8.41
(Underpass – New York)
Artist
Unidentified (American)
Date1933-1934
oil on photograph on canvas mounted on paperboard
On view
Image Not Available
Support for the Works
Artist
Date1998
found metal, clothing, cire, nails, oil enamel, and industrial sealing compound on canvas on wood
Not on view