Study for Many Mansions (Planting Figure)

Kerry James Marshall's Study for Many Mansions (Planting Figure) is a black Conte crayon drawing with smudging on white wove paper. This study focuses on a figure engaged in planting, relating to the theme of cultivation of community. The figure is shown bent to the task, hands engaged with the earth. The black Conte crayon technique allows for rich, dense blacks. This study demonstrates Marshall's engagement with the theme of labor and the relationship between human beings and the natural world.

Marshall's studies of figures engaged in labor connect his work to the tradition of representing work in art.

This study of a planting figure connects the theme of home to the labor of cultivation, Marshall's rendering capturing both the physical act and its metaphorical significance.