Douglass Square
- Date
- 1936
- Material
- Oil on canvas-covered artist's board
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- American Art
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 333
- Dimensions
- 23 1/2 x 27 in. (59.7 x 68.6 cm)
framed: 24 x 28 3/16 x 1 5/16 in. (61 x 71.6 x 3.3 cm) - Credit Line
- Gift of the Federal Works Agency, Work Projects Administration
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 354:1943
NOTES
Allan Rohan Crite frequently painted his Boston neighborhood. In a 1979 interview, Crite explained his preference for everyday neighborhood scenes like Douglass Square, stating that, “In the twenties and thirties the image of black people was distorted, to put it mildly. We had a ‘Jazz Negro’ entertainer or a traumatic figure out of the ghetto or a social problem. But the ordinary human being who goes to the store, comes home, washes dishes, all the homely things—he just wasn’t registering. I felt it important for me to present that life of black people as part of the Christian dignity of man.”
Provenance
- 1943
Federal Works Agency, Works Projects Administration, Chicago, IL
1943 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by the Federal Works Agency, Works Projects Administration [1]
Notes:
[1] In 1943, the Works Projects Administration was terminated, and works made under the project between 1935 and 1943 were distributed to public institutions throughout the United States. The Chicago branch of the WPA allocated a number of works to the Saint Louis Art Museum [receipt for allocation of works of art from the Federal Works Agency, Works Projects Administration, dated April 12, 1943, SLAM document files].
Federal Works Agency, Works Projects Administration, Chicago, IL
1943 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by the Federal Works Agency, Works Projects Administration [1]
Notes:
[1] In 1943, the Works Projects Administration was terminated, and works made under the project between 1935 and 1943 were distributed to public institutions throughout the United States. The Chicago branch of the WPA allocated a number of works to the Saint Louis Art Museum [receipt for allocation of works of art from the Federal Works Agency, Works Projects Administration, dated April 12, 1943, SLAM document files].
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.