Provenance
The artist; sold through Jack Shainman Gallery, New York [copy of invoice in curatorial object file], to the Art Institute of Chicago, October 13, 2008.
Accession Number
192694
Medium
Acrylic on polyvinyl
Dimensions
186 × 155 cm (73 1/4 × 61 in.)
Classification
acrylic paintings (visual works)
Credit Line
Through prior gift of Adeline Yates; Benjamin Argile Memorial, Cyrus Hall McCormick, Alfred and May Tiefenbronner Memorial, Mr. and Mrs. Frank G. Logan Prize, Pauline Palmer Prize, Broadus James Clarke Memorial, Norman Wait Harris Prize, William H. Bartels Prize, Joyce Van Pilsum, Laura T. Magnuson Acquisition, Ann M. Vielehr Prize, and Ada S. Garrett Prize funds; Flora Mayer Witkowsky Award for American Art; Boles C. and Hyacinth G. Drechney and Mr. and Mrs. J.F. Brower Prize funds; The Municipal Art League Prize for Portraiture; Marjorie and Louis Susman, Martin B. Cahn Prize, and Elisabeth Mathews funds
Background & Context
Background Story
Kerry James Marshall's Vignette #2.50 (2008) is an acrylic on polyvinyl painting from the same series. Each Vignette is numbered, suggesting Marshall was working through a sequence of ideas. The subject is another scene from African American life, treated with Marshall's combination of representational clarity and formal invention. The small scale gives an intimate quality, inviting close looking. The Vignette series constitutes a remarkable body of work, each painting a concentrated exploration of themes that define Marshall's art.
Cultural Impact
Marshall's Vignettes demonstrate his ability to work at any scale, from intimate paintings to monumental canvases.
Why It Matters
This small vignette continues Marshall's exploration of African American life, the precise acrylic technique and intimate scale creating a work of concentrated beauty.
