Tomorrow I May Be Far Away
1967
Artist, American, 1911 - 1988

Much like Edith Johnson’s 1929 classic song “Good Chib Blues,” Romare Bearden’s intricate collage tells a story through repetition and rhythm. Here, clippings in shades of green, blue, tan, and brown create a powerful composition based on the artist’s childhood memories of rural North Carolina. A large man seated in the center leans against a structure reminiscent of a sharecropper’s cabin. One woman peers out from the window nearby while another tends to chickens in the yard. The title, based on the song’s lyrics, suggests Bearden’s bittersweet ties to the South: “Aah, tomorrow I may be far away/Oh, tomorrow I may be far away/Don’t try to jive me, sweet talk can’t make me stay.”
Artwork overview
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Medium
collage of various papers with charcoal, graphite and paint on paper mounted to canvas
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Credit Line
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Dimensions
overall: 116.8 x 142.2 cm (46 x 56 in.)
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Accession
2001.72.1
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Copyright
© Romare Bearden Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
More About this Artwork

Article: Drawing with Scissors with Romare Bearden
Wendy MacNaughton takes us on a journey to meet the legendary Harlem artist known for his collages — and reflect on our own homes and families.
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
(Cordier & Ekstrom Gallery, New York); (Dintenfass Gallery, New York); Estate of Robert Lang, Rye, New York; James D. Julia, Maine; (Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York); purchased 2001 by NGA.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
2001
African-American Art: 20th Century Masterworks, VIII, Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, 2001, cat. 24.
2004
The Art of Romare Bearden. National Gallery of Art, Washington; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Dallas Museum of Art; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, 2003-2004, no. 50.
2012
"Romare Bearden: Southern Recollections", Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL, 2012.
2021
Afro-Atlantic Histories, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Dallas Museum of Art, 2021-2024 (shown only in Houston and Washington).
Bibliography
2003
The Art of Romare Bearden. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2003: 44, no. 50.
2011
Hanzal, Carla M. et al. Romare Bearden: Southern Recollections (Mint Museum Randoph, Charlotte, NC, Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL, The Newark Museum, Newark, NJ 2011-2012) Charlotte and London: 2011.
2016
National Gallery of Art. Highlights from the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Washington, 2016: 334, 335, repro..
Inscriptions
upper right: Romare Bearden
Wikidata ID
Q64629655