Jack Johnson
Richard Yarde
(American, 1939–2011)
1987
Medium/TechniqueWatercolor on paper
DimensionsSheet (three attached sheets):102.9 x 57.0 cm (40 1/2 x 22 7/16 in.)
Framed: 108.6 x 62.9 cm (42 3/4 x 24 3/4 in.)
Framed: 108.6 x 62.9 cm (42 3/4 x 24 3/4 in.)
Credit LineGift of Efraín Barradas in honor of David Bonetti
Accession number1995.755
On View
Not on viewClassificationsWatercolors
Collections
Boston born painter Richard Yarde studied art at Boston University and was a Professor of Fine Art at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst for many years. Yarde is perhaps best known for his extraordinary facility with watercolor. This work, a portrait of the first black heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson, exhibits several characteristics typical of Yarde's technique: a tendency to divide his backgrounds into irregular tiles of solid color, and a propensity to expand the boundaries of his evolving compositions by collaging on additional sheets of paper.
InscriptionsInscribed in graphite below image, l.l.: Yarde '87ProvenanceSold by the artist to Efrain Barradas, Boston; 1995, gift of Efrain Barradas to the MFA. (Accession Date: November 15, 1995)Copyright© Richard Yarde 1987
