Head of a Negro Boy

William Artis (American, 1914–1977)

1939

Medium/TechniqueTerracotta; wood base

DimensionsOverall (including base): 29.2 x 16.8 x 19.7 cm (11 1/2 x 6 5/8 x 7 3/4 in.)

Credit LineThe John Axelrod Collection—Frank B. Bemis Fund, Charles H. Bayley Fund, and The Heritage Fund for a Diverse Collection

Accession number2011.1803

On View

Not on view

ClassificationsSculpture

Collections

Americas

Provenance20th century, collection of James A. Porter (1905-1970), art historian, artist, and teacher at Howard University and author of "Modern Negro Art" (1943), the first comprehensive study of African American art in the United States; to his wife, Dorothy Burnett Porter Wesley (1905-1995), notable librarian and curator who built and ran the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University. 1998, sold by Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, to John Axelrod, Boston; 2011, sold by Axelrod to the MFA. (Accession date: June 22, 2011)