120.9.14.286.9.33-ton 290.9.27 be at 153.9.28.110.8.17.255.9.29 evening 178.9.8... -an informer's coded message
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.American Revolutionary officer-turned-traitor Benedict Arnold used a numerical substitution system to inform the British of General George Washington’s secret plan to cross the Hudson River in 1780. Lawrence conceived of this exchange close-up as the informer whispers into the ear of his contact. Eliminating the space between the stony faces, he emphasized the dangerous nature of espionage and betrayal. The artist painted this panel one year after the collapse of Joseph McCarthy’s damaging investigations into the loyalties of progressive Americans. The subject pointedly references the widespread fear created by informers and "friendly witnesses" as well as by the FBI, which surveilled many artists, including Lawrence, for so-called "subversive" ties to left-leaning organizations.
Artwork Details
- Title: 120.9.14.286.9.33-ton 290.9.27 be at 153.9.28.110.8.17.255.9.29 evening 178.9.8... -an informer's coded message
- Artist: Jacob Lawrence (American, Atlantic City, New Jersey 1917–2000 Seattle, Washington)
- Date: 1955
- Medium: Egg temperal on hardboard
- Dimensions: 16 × 12 in. (40.6 × 30.5 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Iris & G. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University
- Rights and Reproduction: © 2022 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art