Old Man
Object Details
- Caption
- Old Man reflects John Biggers’s early interest in social realism, an art movement best known for illustrating social and economic injustice. His interest in this style may have been partially influenced by his art professor at Hampton University, Viktor Lowenfeld, a Jewish immigrant who began teaching there in 1939 after fleeing the Nazi occupation in Austria. While at Hampton, Lowenfeld became Biggers’s mentor. In 1946 Biggers followed Lowenfeld to Pennsylvania State University and earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in art education and a doctorate in education.
- Biggers painted Old Man while living in Pennsylvania. The work reflects the extreme poverty and substandard living conditions many African Americans experienced because of racial discrimination.
- Description
- This is an oil painting depicting the figure of an old man. Wearing a long black coat and a narrow brimmed brown hat, he has shoulder length white hair. He holds a stick or cane with his right hand out in front of him and carries a wrinkled paper bag in his left hand. In the background are wooden structures. Made of wooden boards, they have peaked single roofs and tilt slightly. A partial window is visible behind the figure's left shoulder. The ground is represented by undulating waves in brownish-purple that flow under the figure's feet. The painting is signed by the artist in the lower left corner "Bigger 6-46."
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Gerald and Anita Smith
- Data Source
- National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Date
- 1946
- Object number
- 2012.162.2
- Created by
- John Biggers, American, 1924 - 2001
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Artists Rights Society
- Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
- Type
- oil paintings
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- H x W x D (frame): 51 1/2 × 20 1/2 × 2 3/4 in. (130.8 × 52.1 × 7 cm)
- H x W (unframed): 46 7/8 × 24 5/8 × 1 in. (119 × 62.5 × 2.5 cm)
- See more items in
- National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
- Classification
- Visual Arts
- Topic
- African American
- Art
- Communities
- Men
- Poverty
- Record ID
- nmaahc_2012.162.2
