Kerry James Marshall

American, born 1955

Explore Selected Works

See all 15 works of art
Kerry James Marshall, Thomas Lucas, Hummingbird Press Editions, Untitled (Man), 2017, woodcut, printed in dark brown and black inks, on Rives BFK paper, Gift of Mr. David and Dr. Lisa Grain and Family, 2018.34.1

Untitled (Man)

Kerry James Marshall, Thomas Lucas, Hummingbird Press Editions · 2017 · woodcut, printed in dark brown and black inks, on Rives BFK paper ·  Accession ID  2018.34.1

Stephen DeSantis, Curtis Bartone, Kerry James Marshall, Exquisite Corpse, 2015, brush and black ink, crayon, photolithograph collage, and colored pencil on three adhered sheets of blue wove paper, Gift of Bob Stana and Tom Judy, 2019.109.81

Exquisite Corpse

Stephen DeSantis, Curtis Bartone, Kerry James Marshall · 2015 · brush and black ink, crayon, photolithograph collage, and colored pencil on three adhered sheets of blue wove paper ·  Accession ID  2019.109.81

Kerry James Marshall, Galamander Press, Brodsky Center, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, College Art Association, May 15, 2001, 2003, screenprint in yellow and green on Arches 88 wove paper, Gift of Bob Stana and Tom Judy, 2019.109.49

May 15, 2001

Kerry James Marshall, Galamander Press, Brodsky Center, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, College Art Association · 2003 · screenprint in yellow and green on Arches 88 wove paper ·  Accession ID  2019.109.49

Four people with black skin are squeezed into a narrow boat on bright, turquoise-colored water that nearly fills this stylized, square painting. All four sides of the unstretched canvas are lined with six gromets spaced along each edge. The boat approaches a carnival-like tunnel near the upper right corner. Cartoon ghosts loom at the tunnel entrance and a translucent, veil-like ghost hovers over the left half of the painting. The horizon comes almost to the top of the canvas, where white clouds float against an azure-blue sky. A long, lemon-yellow line curls back and forth in a tight, curving zigzag pattern that widens out from a tiny sun setting on the horizon. A red cross on a white field floats near the upper left. At the top center, the word “WOW” appears in white letters within a crimson-red, bursting speech bubble with long trailing tendrils, like an exploded firework. Below the boat and against the water to our right, the word “FUN” has been overlaid with a white square so the tall, white letters are barely visible. The words “GREAT AMERICA” appear in a curling banner across the bottom half of the painting.
Kerry James Marshall, Great America, 1994, acrylic and collage on canvas, Gift of the Collectors Committee, 2011.20.1

Great America

Kerry James Marshall · 1994 · acrylic and collage on canvas ·  Accession ID  2011.20.1

A man and a woman with black skin stand in a sage and olive-green boat that comes toward us on a wavy, dripping band of cobalt blue that spans the lower edge of this loosely hanging, square canvas. The word “WANDERER” is written in white capital letters along the bow of the boat. Closer to us, in the boat, a woman is seen from the hips up. An oval, cloud-like form covers her torso, shoulders, and the area behind her head. It is white with rose-pink swirls, and has a few black lines creating scallops around the edge. A black shape at her waist, just over a cobalt-blue skirt, could indicate that at least one arm is bent behind her back. The penis, thighs, and knees of a man are seen between the boat and the triangular, pale lilac-purple sail. The sail is painted with long, curling strokes of violet purple up its center. A long, white pennant with two gold stars flutters from the boat’s burgundy-red mast, which has a crosspiece just below the pennant. The water is painted with strokes of royal blue, which partially drip over a white skull at the lower center. The boat is set against a background layered in washes of white, shell pink, and baby blue, with swirls and thin strokes of brick red scattered across it. A yellow sun outlined in deeper gold peeks above the horizon in the lower left, and is repeated with more orbs that together make an arc that curves to the upper right corner. A few geometric line drawings hover next to the woman, on our left, such as a compass-like cross with a crosshatched oval at each end. A black number "1" floats in the lower left, above the water, and a black number "7" floats near the upper left. Two more black sevens float near the upper right, next to another heart-shaped line drawing. The background transitions from the pale washes to darker orbs of pink and blue, that overlap a band of black that nearly spans the top edge. In that upper zone, a black, gold, and red compass floats near the top of the mast, to our left. A sheet with anatomical illustrations hangs from the left arm of the mast. The drawings show cell clusters and human fetuses, some circled in red. A second drawing of a house circled in lilac purple hangs on the right arm, next to a third drawing of concentric circles.
Kerry James Marshall, Voyager, 1992, acrylic and collage on canvas, Corcoran Collection (Gift of the Women’s Committee of the Corcoran Gallery of Art), 2014.79.52

Voyager

Kerry James Marshall · 1992 · acrylic and collage on canvas ·  Accession ID  2014.79.52

Kerry James Marshall, Final study for "Great America", c.1994, black conté crayon on wove paper, Gift of the Artist, 2014.12.10

Final study for "Great America"

Kerry James Marshall · c.1994 · black conté crayon on wove paper ·  Accession ID  2014.12.10

Kerry James Marshall, Study for "Great America", c. 1994, pen and black ink on graph paper, Gift of the Artist, 2014.12.3

Study for "Great America"

Kerry James Marshall · c. 1994 · pen and black ink on graph paper ·  Accession ID  2014.12.3

Kerry James Marshall, Study for "Great America" (Tunnel of Love), c. 1994, graphite on wove paper, Gift of the Artist, 2014.12.5

Study for "Great America" (Tunnel of Love)

Kerry James Marshall · c. 1994 · graphite on wove paper ·  Accession ID  2014.12.5

Kerry James Marshall, Study for "Great America", c. 1994, black conté crayon on wove paper, Gift of the Artist, 2014.12.6

Study for "Great America"

Kerry James Marshall · c. 1994 · black conté crayon on wove paper ·  Accession ID  2014.12.6

Kerry James Marshall, Study for "Great America", c. 1994, pen and black ink on graph paper, Gift of the Artist, 2014.12.1

Study for "Great America"

Kerry James Marshall · c. 1994 · pen and black ink on graph paper ·  Accession ID  2014.12.1