Father & Mother—Tintype
- Date
- 1939
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- made in
- Chicago, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- American Art
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 333
- Dimensions
- 24 3/16 x 20 in. (61.4 x 50.8 cm)
framed: 29 3/8 x 25 7/16 x 1 5/8 in. (74.6 x 64.6 x 4.1 cm) - Credit Line
- Gift of the Federal Works Agency, Work Projects Administration
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 358:1943
NOTES
Walter Ellison depicts his parents as dignified middle-class citizens, tastefully dressed in their Sunday best, though oddly oblivious to the decay and disrepair around them. The carpet is torn, and the studio backdrop sags to the point of nearly draping the shoulders of the couple. Their upright character is undermined by the environment, symbolic of the often difficult and unsuitable conditions for African Americans at the time.
Ellison was employed by the Illinois Art Project, a program of the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA), and was a founding member of Chicago’s South Side Community Art Center. This painting, like a number of other works by African Americans now in the Saint Louis Art Museum’s collection, came as a gift from the WPA.
Ellison was employed by the Illinois Art Project, a program of the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA), and was a founding member of Chicago’s South Side Community Art Center. This painting, like a number of other works by African Americans now in the Saint Louis Art Museum’s collection, came as a gift from the WPA.
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.