Washington, D.C. Grandchildren of Mrs. Ella Watson, a government charwoman

July 1942, printed later

Gordon Parks

Artist, American, 1912 - 2006

Two Black children sit to either side of a white-skinned doll in this horizontal black and white photograph. The children sit with their knees pulled up on a wood floor against a wall with a grate in the upper right corner of the photograph. A girl sits to our left with one arm around the doll’s shoulders. The girl smiles her head tipped toward the doll, and she curls the toes of one foot. She wears a white, sleeveless top and shorts. The doll is about the same size as the children and wears a white dress and one shoe. The boy wears white shorts and sits to our right, leaning against the doll. He looks down and picks at one knee. The pale-colored wall and high baseboard are scuffed, and the grate is almost square with a geometric design.
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Artwork overview


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Gordon Parks, New York; gift to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1998; acquired by NGA, 2016.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1997

  • Half Past Autumn: The Art of Gordon Parks, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, September 10, 1997 – January 11, 1998

Inscriptions

on verso, by Corcoran Gallery of Art, bottom right corner in graphite: CGA#015

Wikidata ID

Q64154342


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