Frederick Douglass,

1951

<p>White’s 1951 lithograph of Frederick Douglass is as a newer, refined take on his 1949 work on the same subject. The artist fashioned the older drawing, titled <em>Frederick Douglass Lives Again (The Ghost of Frederick Douglass)</em>, with pen and ink. The drawing, fantastical and fictitious, portrays the mythical aspect of Douglass’s legacy. In his 1951 lithograph, by contrast, White strips away the ornamentation. He leaves viewers with a Douglass grounded in his real-world reputation as a wise, aged leader. </p> <p>Born to a working-class family in Chicago, White was fourteen years old when he encountered Alaine Locke’s formative book,<em> The New Negro</em>. White credited this study as “one of the most important books that had ever been done on the culture of the Negro” and claimed that it inspired him to make Negro life the subject of his art. In 1937, White received a full scholarship to study at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he worked mainly with murals. This passion for murals was extended when he traveled to Mexico at the height of the country’s muralist movement. Living and working beside artists like Diego Rivera, White was heavily influenced by the social realism that the muralist movement promoted. The effects of this influence can be seen in his 1951 lithograph: the black-and-white rendering of Douglass recalls White’s affinity for black-and-white mural painting. The elegant rendering of Douglass’s beard suggests White’s familiarity with engaging large, extended canvases. Ultimately, White believed that murals were an opportunity to say something meaningful through his work. This artwork achieves this purpose. In its mural-like form, the lithograph portrays the dignity of Frederick Douglass’s legacy. </p> <p><strong>Lesa Redmond<br>Princeton Class of 2017</strong><br>(prepared for the course AAS 349 / ART 364, Seeing to Remember: Representing Slavery Across the Black Atlantic, Spring 2017)</p>

<p><strong>Student label, AAS 349 / ART 364, Seeing to Remember: Representing Slavery Across the Black Atlantic, Spring 2017:</strong> </p> <p>White’s lithograph creates a unique representation of Frederick Douglass. On the surface, this lithograph seems to be like any other reproduction of his image, but White portrays a version of Douglass askew from his typical likeness. The white space around his head forms a halo that crowns his checkered hair. The folds of skin that sag beneath his eyes suggest a fatigue that only comes with age. His eyes, framed by large black eyebrows, give the impression of an intense focus, one compounded by the frontal direction of Douglass’s gaze. Here Douglass is a world-weary man staring back at his audience.</p> <p>Douglass’s beard and hair send just as forceful a message, as they occupy most of the space in the frame. Each strand of Douglass’s hair stretches neatly from his temple down to his cheek before seamlessly transitioning into the flowing hair of his beard. Such a large, elegant rendering gives a calm antithesis to the strained look on his face. It also invokes the Muralist tradition in which White was trained. Douglass’s hair signifies the knowledge and wisdom that is characteristic of a great leader. Ultimately, viewers see Douglass as a wise and praiseworthy leader who is also tired and somber. Such an attitude seems fitting in the context of a civil rights movement yet to bear tangible results.</p> <p><strong>Lesa Redmond<br>Princeton Class of 2017</strong></p>