Played Out
- Date
- c.1937–38
- Material
- Etching and aquatint
- Classification
- Prints
- Collection
- Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- plate: 8 7/8 x 5 7/8 in. (22.5 x 14.9 cm)
sheet: 14 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. (36.8 x 26.7 cm) - Credit Line
- Gift of the Federal Works Agency, Work Projects Administration
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 340:1943
NOTES
The African American banjo player was a common subject in early 20th-century art, but in this print Dox Thrash transformed the motif from a simple stereotype to a sensitive and individualized portrait. Before moving to Philadelphia in 1929, Thrash traveled widely, working at a series of odd jobs including bellboy and comedian. He spent this time observing and drawing the people he encountered, especially African Americans. These experiences provided him with material for many of the innovative prints he made at the Philadelphia Fine Print Workshop, a program of the government-sponsored Federal Arts Project during the Great Depression.
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