Freedom
Amy Sherald, Precious jewels by the sea, 2019, 120 x 108 x 2 1/2 in. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2020.2. Photography by Edward C. Robison III.
Additional Resources
Amy Sherald
Precious jewels by the sea
- Describe the artist's use of color and detail. What do you notice about the way they represent people?
This massive painting recalls staged snapshots from vintage photo albums featuring summering tourists-complete with puffy clouds, loud umbrella, and picnic basket. It is picture-perfect Americana rendered in brilliant color. Here, Amy Sherald continues her efforts to increase visibility of Black Americans. She states that in this painting she is, “creating American Narratives about American people-while critiquing it at the same time. This painting, and all of them, are about expressions of freedom.”
- How does Precious jewels by the sea support or oppose the historical images of Black people in American art? Why do you think Amy Sherald uses a gray skin tone? How do ideas about race and skin color affect how we see others and ourselves?
Content Contributors
Exhibition sponsored by Kenneth C. Griffin
Learning and engagement programming for
We the People: The Radical Notion of Democracy is sponsored by:
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