Created while White was an artist in residence at Howard University in Washington, D.C., this lithograph illustrates the hopelessness felt by Blacks during this time. A sorrowful mother holds up her child, the "hope for the future," in large protective arms. Although the title indicates an optimistic outcome, the view through the window suggests just the opposite. Under cold gray skies, a lone leafless tree inhabits a barren lifeless world. The noose tied to its branches is a chilling reminder of the lynchings taking place in the South and an indication of the newborn's uncertain fate.
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Inscription: Signed and inscribed (lower right, in graphite): Charles White - W.B.
[Lyle Evan Gallery, Boston, until 1989; sold on January 1, 1989 to Williams]; Reba and Dave Williams, New York (1989–99; their gift to MMA)
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. 96.
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. 96.
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. 96.
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. 96.
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. 96.
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. 96.
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. 96.
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. 96.
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. 96.
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. 96.
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. 96.
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. 96.
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. 96.
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. 96.
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. 96.
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. 96.
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. 96.
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. 5.
Richard J. Powell. "I, Too, Am America, Protest and Black Power: Philosophical Continuities in Prints by Black Americans." Black Art: An International Quarterly 2 (Spring 1978), p. 14, ill. (collection Howard University Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.), dates it 1946.
Lucinda Heyel Gedeon. "Introduction to the Work of Charles W. White with a Catalogue Raisonné." PhD diss., University of California Los Angeles, 1981, p. 348, no. Ea3, ill. p. 359, notes that this print earned the top print award at the 5th Annual Atlanta University Negro Exhibition 1946 and that a preliminary drawing exists.
Reba and Dave Williams 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, pp. 24–25, 57, no. 96, fig. 15.
"Art Exhibit Focuses on Works by Blacks During New Deal." Times-Press (May 30, 1996), p. 11.
Alison Cameron. "Buenos Vecinos: African-American Printmaking and the Taller de Gráfica Popular." Print Quarterly 16 (December 1999), p. 362, fig. 196, dates it 1947.
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. 25–26, 58, no. 5, 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. 19.
David Minthorn. "Depression-Era Exhibit Showcases Black Artists." Herald-News (Passaic, NJ) (February 2, 2003), p. B6.
Dave H. Williams. Small Victories: One Couple's Surprising Adventures Building an Unrivaled Collection of American Prints. Boston, 2015, pp. 106–7, fig. 5 (color).
Douglas Eklund inEverything is Connected: Art and Conspiracy. Exh. cat., The Met Breuer. New York, 2018, p. 22, fig. 11 (color).
Charles Wilbert White (American, Chicago, Illinois 1918–1979 Los Angeles, California)
1969
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