Jovan/ Cabeza by Charles White
  • Charles White

  • Title:Jovan/ Cabeza
  • Inventory#:WH000127
  • Size:14" x 11"
  • Medium:Lithograph
  • Price:Price On Request
  • 1946 lithograph
    image: 13½ h × 10¾ w in (34 × 27 cm)
    sheet: 25¾ h × 19¾ w in (65 × 50 cm)
    Printed signature to lower right ‘C.W.’. Stamped to verso 'Taller de Gráfica Popular' Registro de Obras (Re...
    READ MORE
Charles White

Charles White’s commitment to creating powerful images of African Americans—what his gallerist and, later, White himself described as “images of dignity”—was unwavering over the course of his four-decade career. White believed that art had a role to play in changing the world: “Art must be an integral part of the struggle. It can’t simply mirror what’s taking place. It must adapt itself to human needs. It must ally itself with the forces of liberation. The fact is, artists have always been propagandists. I have no use for artists who try to divorce themselves from the struggle.”

Printmaking was a vital part of White’s career.  He created socially engaged lithographs as early as 1939 for the Works Progress Administration in Chicago.  In 1946, White accompanied his wife, the artist Elizabeth Catlett, to Mexico City.  There, they worked at the celebrated and politically progressive printshop El Taller de Grafica Popular (the People’s Graphic Workshop). White left Mexico in 1949, and while his style moved away from angular and geometric forms, he continued to make lithographs that focused on themes of racial and social justice.

As an artist dedicated to promoting civil rights, White gravitated to printmaking early in his career for its technical and visual accessibility.  When White began making metal etchings, he excelled at the technique, producing images of Black Americans with the same sensitivity and detail as seen in his drawings.

White began making etchings while living in Los Angeles in the late 1960’s.  He was attracted to the technique as it allowed him to create prints with the same delicacy as his drawings.  White used crosshatching to produce the background’s dramatic lighting and minimal, yet textured, surface.

White believed in creating representational art that would connect with the public as well as advocate for racial, economic, and social justice.  Active for several decades, White had a profound influence on generations of artists and students.  His art consistently reflected his mission to create positive images of Black Americans.  He depicted both celebrated people, such as the social reformer Frederick Douglass, and anonymous figures. Childhood was a recurring motif in White’s work.

White lived in Chicago, New York, and, finally, Los Angeles over the course of his career, and was a critical member of creative communities in each of these cities. He counted photographer Gordon Parks, painter Jacob Lawrence, and singer and actor Harry Belafonte as friends and colleagues. From his earliest days as a mature artist, White was also a gifted and dedicated teacher, and David Hammons and Kerry James Marshall were among his many students. His practice of making rigorous, socially committed art affected these younger artists, some of whom continue his legacy in their own work. As Marshall noted, “Under Charles White’s influence I always knew that I wanted to make work that was about something: history, culture, politics, social issues. . .  It was just a matter of mastering the skills to actually do it.”

Jovan/ Cabeza
Charles White
Lithograph
14" x 11"
1946
Price On Request
Prices and availability may change without prior notice.
A price quote alone does not constitute a hold on the item.
All items remain property of Granary Gallery until paid in full.