Newsboy
A relatively obscure African American artist, Hill produced this lithograph as a teenager while he was taking printmaking classes at the Works Progress Administration’s Harlem Community Art Center from fellow printmaker Riva Helfond (to whom he dedicated this sheet in an inscription). Hill harnessed the tonal variations of the medium to create a dense scene full of implied movement and sound, from the honking of car horns to the call of the diminutive young paperboy. Soon after completing this work, Hill joined the Merchant Marines and submitted it for inclusion in a February 1943 exhibition of art made by members of the armed forces. He died before he could see it on view, however, when a German torpedo sank his ship. This may be the only surviving example of the early print.
Artwork Details
- Title: Newsboy
- Artist: Carl G. Hill (American, (?) 1920–1943)
- Date: 1938
- Medium: Lithograph
- Dimensions: 13 13/16 × 10 1/2 in. (35.1 × 26.7 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Gift of Reba and Dave Williams, 1999
- Object Number: 1999.529.65
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
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