Inscription: Inscribed and signed (lower margin, in graphite): Inst Riva Helfond Blackburn -
Riva Helfond (possibly until 1989); [Sragow Gallery, New York, 1989; sold on April 1, 1989 to Williams]; Reba and Dave Williams, New York (1989–99; their gift to MMA)
Bronx. Lehman College Art Gallery of The City University of New York. "Black Printmakers and the W.P.A.," February 23–June 6, 1989, unnumbered cat. (p. 31; as "Checker Game [Club Room]", n.d., lent by Riva Helfond) [possibly this edition].
Newark Museum, held jointly at the Equitable Gallery, New York. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," December 10, 1992–February 28, 1993, no. 4 (dated ca. 1939).
Long Beach Museum of Art. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," June 4–August 8, 1993, no. 4.
Cambridge, England. Fitzwilliam Museum. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," October 5–December 19, 1993, no. 4.
Albany. New York State Museum. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," January 5–March 13, 1994, no. 4.
New Haven. Yale University Art Gallery. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," April 7–June 12, 1994, no. 4.
Louisville. Speed Art Museum. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," July 12–September 4, 1994, no. 4.
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," October 9–December 4, 1994, no. 4.
Baltimore Museum of Art. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," January 4–February 26, 1995, no. 4.
Charleston. Gibbes Museum of Art. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," March 26–May 21, 1995, no. 4.
Miami Beach. Bass Museum of Art. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," June 18–August 13, 1995, no. 4.
Little Rock. Arkansas Arts Center. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," September 10–November 5, 1995, no. 4.
Mobile, Ala. Fine Arts Museum of the South. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," December 3, 1995–January 28, 1996, no. 4.
Brooklyn Museum. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," February 25–April 22, 1996, no. 4.
Art Institute of Chicago. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," May 17–July 14, 1996, no. 4.
Dallas Museum of Art. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," August 9–October 6, 1996, no. 4.
Saint Louis Art Museum. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," November 1, 1996–January 2, 1997, no. 4.
Atlanta. High Museum of Art. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," January 31–March 30, 1997, no. 4.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "African-American Artists, 1929–1945: Prints, Drawings, and Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," January 15–May 4, 2003, extended to July 6, 2003, no. 39.
College Park, Md. David C. Driskell Center. "Robert Blackburn: Passages," September 18–December 19, 2014, unnumbered cat. (p. 34; as "'Clubroom' [aka 'Mike's Place']").
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Selections from the Department of Drawings and Prints: New York Inspired," January 21–April 26, 2021.
Kellie Jones. Master and Pupils II: The Education of the Black Artist in New York, 1900–1980. Exh. brochure, Jamaica Arts Center. New York, 1988, unpaginated, ill. (not this edition, Hatch-Billops Collection), calls it "Mike's Place" and dates it 1938.
Ellen Sragow. "Black Printmakers and the WPA: A Symposium." Tamarind Papers: A Journal of the Fine Print 13 (1990), ill. p. 76, calls it "Checker Game (Club Room)" and dates it about 1935–37.
Leslie King-Hammond inAlone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–40s by African-American Artists; From the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams. Exh. cat., Newark Museum. New York, 1993, p. 16.
Lisa Gail Collins inAfrican-American Artists, 1929–1945: Prints, Drawings, and Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2003, pp. 31, 55, 72, no. 39, ill.
Lisa Mintz Messinger inAfrican-American Artists, 1929–1945: Prints, Drawings, and Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2003, p. 67.
Deborah Cullen inRobert Blackburn: Passages. Exh. cat., David C. Driskell Center. College Park, Md., 2014, pp. 29, 135, ill. p. 34 (color).
"Inst." in the inscription stands for "instructor." Riva Helfond taught at the Harlem Art Center, where prints were made between 1937 and 1939.
Robert Blackburn (American, Summit, New Jersey 1920–2003 New York)
1938
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