Shotguns
John Thomas Biggers
(American, 1924–2001)
1983–86
Medium/TechniqueCharcoal and conte crayon on paper
DimensionsOverall: 76.2 × 101.6 cm (30 × 40 in.)
Framed: 95.9 × 121 × 3.2 cm (37 3/4 × 47 5/8 × 1 1/4 in.)
Framed: 95.9 × 121 × 3.2 cm (37 3/4 × 47 5/8 × 1 1/4 in.)
Credit LineThe John Axelrod Collection—Frank B. Bemis Fund, Charles H. Bayley Fund, and The Heritage Fund for a Diverse Collection
Accession number2011.1831
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“Shotguns” are small, narrow wooden houses in which all the rooms are aligned behind one another; some believe they were so called because a single gunshot would travel straight through from front to back. Characteristic of the southern United States and possibly derived from African sources, the houses have become symbolic of poor African American communities. Biggers shows them occupied by monumental women who hold threads and fabrics, modern guardians of fate.
ProvenanceBernadette Lester, Montgomery, AL; by 2005, with Bill Hodges Gallery; February 2005, sold by Bill Hodges Gallery to John Axelrod, Boston; 2011, sold by Axelrod to the MFA. (Accession date: June 22, 2011)
CopyrightJohn T. Biggers Estate/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.
