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W. E. B. Du Bois

W. E. B. Du Bois
Usage Conditions Apply
Artist
Laura Wheeler Waring, 1887 - 1948
Sitter
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, 23 Feb 1868 - 27 Aug 1963
Date
before 1948
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
81.9 x 63.5cm (32 1/4 x 25")
Frame: 94.6 x 76.5 x 5.1cm (37 1/4 x 30 1/8 x 2")
Topic
Interior
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Table
Printed Material\Papers
Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses\Pince-nez
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois: Male
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois: Literature\Writer
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Professor\University
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois: Literature\Writer\Poet
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Activist\Civil rights activist\Civil rights leader
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois: Literature\Editor
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Walter Waring in memory of his wife, Laura Wheeler Waring, through the Harmon Foundation
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© Estate of Laura Wheeler Waring
Object number
NPG.67.36
Provenance
Walter Waring, husband of artist, gift 1967 to NPG through the Harmon Foundation.
Collection Description
The Harmon Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in New York City (active 1922–1967), included this portrait in their exhibition Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin, which opened at the Smithsonian in 1944 and documented noteworthy African Americans’ contributions to the country. Modeling their goal of social equality, the Harmon sought portraits from African American artist Laura Wheeler Waring and Euro-American artist Betsy Graves Reyneau. The two painters followed the conventional codes of academic portraiture, seeking to convey their sitters’ extraordinary accomplishments. This painting, along with a variety of educational materials, toured nation-wide for ten years, serving as a visual rebuttal to racism.
La Harmon Foundation, entidad filantrópica con sede en la ciudad de Nueva York (activa entre 1922 y 1967), incluyó este retrato en Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin (Retratos de estadounidenses destacados de origen negro), una exposición inaugurada en la Smithsonian en 1944 que documentó las aportaciones de afroamericanos notables al país. A tono con sus ideales de igualdad social, la fundación encargó retratos a la artista afroamericana Laura Wheeler Waring y a la euroamericana Betsy Graves Reyneau. Ambas adoptaron los códigos convencionales del retrato académico para comunicar en sus obras los logros extraordinarios de sus modelos. Esta pintura, junto con diversos materiales educativos, viajó por la nación durante diez años planteando una impugnación visual del racismo.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view