Self-Portrait

Malvin Gray Johnson, Self-Portrait, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.57.30
Copied Malvin Gray Johnson, Self-Portrait, 1934, oil on canvas, 38 1⁄4 x 30 in. (97.2 x 76.2 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.57.30
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Artwork Details

Title
Self-Portrait
Artist
Date
1934
Location
Dimensions
38 1⁄4 x 30 in. (97.2 x 76.2 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Harmon Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • African American
  • Occupation — art — painter
  • Portrait male — Johnson, Malvin Gray — self-portrait
Object Number
1967.57.30
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1967.57.30

Artwork Description

In Self-Portrait, Malvin Gray Johnson addresses the viewer with hat in hand and a somber gaze. By placing his painting Negro Masks (1932) in the background, Johnson presents his own face as a mask among others. Collapsing foreground and background, he uses modernist techniques to assert his identity as a modernist painter.