Early Morning Work

William H. Johnson, Early Morning Work, ca. 1940, oil on burlap, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.1082
Copied William H. Johnson, Early Morning Work, ca. 1940, oil on burlap, 38 1⁄2 x 45 5⁄8 in. (97.8 x 115.9 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.1082

Artwork Details

Title
Early Morning Work
Artist
Date
ca. 1940
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
38 1⁄2 x 45 5⁄8 in. (97.8 x 115.9 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Harmon Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on burlap
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure group — family
  • African American
  • Animal — donkey
Object Number
1967.59.1082
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1967.59.1082

Artwork Description

Early Morning Work presents a clear narrative: the day’s chores must be done. But the scene is more than a reminiscence of farm life. It affirms the idea that Southern blacks maintained connections with the cultural heritage of Africa. Though seemingly primitive, the flattened forms and deliberately naïve perspective Johnson used were informed by years of artistic discipline. The man’s profile is a beautifully rendered drawing of an African mask. Hands and mule hoofs are disproportionately large, while the horizontal stripes offer a visual cadence punctuated by the circular forms of a wheel and chickens pecking at the ground.


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