1942, Jacob Lawrence, Pool Parlor -- Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
From the exhibition label: A prizewinner in the 1942 Artists for Victory competition, Pool Parlor was the first work by Lawrence to enter The Met collection. The painting acknowledges and satirizes some of the stereotypes surrounding pool halls, a dominant feature of recreational life among Black men during the Harlem Renaissance period. Lawrence placed all the figures—players, spectators, and gamblers alike—in exaggerated poses as they focus on the game at hand. Lit but untouched cigarettes sit on the edge of pool tables as their smoke rises to meet the low-hanging lights that penetrate the composition.
1942, Jacob Lawrence, Pool Parlor -- Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
From the exhibition label: A prizewinner in the 1942 Artists for Victory competition, Pool Parlor was the first work by Lawrence to enter The Met collection. The painting acknowledges and satirizes some of the stereotypes surrounding pool halls, a dominant feature of recreational life among Black men during the Harlem Renaissance period. Lawrence placed all the figures—players, spectators, and gamblers alike—in exaggerated poses as they focus on the game at hand. Lit but untouched cigarettes sit on the edge of pool tables as their smoke rises to meet the low-hanging lights that penetrate the composition.