Dox Thrash was a prolific and innovative printmaker during the 1930s and 40s, when he worked for the WPA's highly respected Fine Print Workshop of Philadelphia. There he developed a new intaglio process whereby the surface of a metal plate was roughened with Carborundum, a gritty abrasive normally used to prepare lithographic stones. The resulting surface held a maximum amount of ink and produced rich black areas when printed. Thrash's Glory Be is an excellent example of this technique and conveys its expressive qualities. Capturing the essence of religious zeal in this small print, Thrash portrays a group of worshippers silhouetted in the darkness against an ethereal light.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Glory Be
Artist:Dox Thrash (American, Griffin, Georgia 1893–1965 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Date:ca. 1938–42
Medium:Carborundum mezzotint, aquatint, and etching
Dimensions:9 × 11 5/16 in. (22.8 × 28.8 cm)
Classification:Prints
Credit Line:Gift of Reba and Dave Williams, 1999
Object Number:1999.529.162
[Sragow Gallery, New York, until 1992; sold on February 1, 1992 to Williams]; Reba and Dave Williams, New York (1992–99; their gift to MMA)
Washington, D.C. Gallery of Art, Founder's Library, Howard University. "Exhibition of Graphic Arts by Dox Thrash: Etchings, Aquatints, Lithographs, and Carborundum Prints," February 1942, no. 3 [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. 87 (as "Prayer Meeting," ca. 1938).
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. 87.
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. 87.
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. 87.
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. 87.
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. 87.
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. 87.
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. 87.
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. 87.
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. 87.
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. 87.
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. 87.
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. 87.
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. 87.
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. 87.
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. 87.
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. 87.
Hamilton, N. Y. Picker Art Gallery, Colgate University. "Life Impressions: 20th-Century African American Prints from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," September 10–November 4, 2001, no. 32 (as "Prayer Meeting: Glory Be").
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. 28.
Paris. Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac. "The Color Line. Les artistes africains-américains et la ségrégation," October 4, 2016–January 15, 2017, unnumbered cat. (p. 213).
Dox Thrash, Printmaker. Exh. brochure, Suzanne H. Arnold Gallery, Lebanon Valley College of Pennsylvania. Annville, Penn., 1995, (not this edition; collection John Warren, Philadelphia), as "Untitled (Prayer Meeting)," 1938–43.
Mary Ann Calo inLife Impressions: 20th-Century African American Prints from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Dewey F. Mosby. Exh. cat., Picker Art Gallery, Colgate University. Hamilton, N. Y., 2001, pp. 11–12.
Dewey F. Mosby and Jane Seney inLife Impressions: 20th-Century African American Prints from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Dewey F. Mosby. Exh. cat., Picker Art Gallery, Colgate University. Hamilton, N. Y., 2001, pp. 24–26, 55, 68–69, no. 32, fig. 6.
John Ittmann. Dox Thrash: An African American Master Printmaker Rediscovered. Exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia, 2001, pp. 36, 109, 143–44, 157 n. 178, p. 167, no. 101, ill. (Collection of John Warren, Philadelphia edition), calls it "Glory Be!" and dates it about 1941–42.
Kymberly N. Pinder in John Ittmann. Dox Thrash: An African American Master Printmaker Rediscovered. Exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia, 2001, p. 72.
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. 41, 57, 78, no. 28, 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. 75.
Rachel Mustalish 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. 88.
David Minthorn. "Depression-Era Exhibit Showcases Black Artists." Herald-News (Passaic, NJ) (February 2, 2003), p. B6.
Rachel Mustalish in Allison Rudnick. Art for the Millions: American Culture and Politics in the 1930s. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2023, p. 53, fig. 32 (color).
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