Four Seasons

Artist John Anansa Thomas Biggers (American, 1924-2001)

Date1990

DimensionsImage: 21 15/16 × 30 11/16 in. (558 × 780mm)
Sheet: 24 × 34 in. (610 × 864mm)
Frame: 35 × 42 5/8 × 2 in. (889 × 1082.68mm, 5.1 cm)

MediumLithography

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineMr. and Mrs. Kenneth Lay American Art Fund

Object number

2002.14

Not on View

DescriptionOne color lithograph, signed and dated by the artist, with stamp of the printer. One color lithograph, signed and dated by the artist, with stamp of the printer.

Label TextThe bold colors and repeating, geometric forms created by the rows of shotgun houses in this image reference designs in African textiles. The four large, powerful women seem to hold up the houses with their heads alone. Representative of the seasons, each woman is accompanied by domestic symbols: the light bulb for the winter, or the washbasin for spring cleaning. The cast-iron cooking pots are African symbols of nurturing and womanhood. The turtles represent the ancient, cross-cultural creation myth where the Mother Turtle holds up the world on her shell. She represents the land and is also a sign of health and stability. Taken together, the symbols in this print suggest the strength and foundational importance of Black women to the continuity of culture, community, and society.Published Referencescf. John Thomas Biggers, Ananse, the Web of Life in Africa, Austin, University of Texas Press, 1979. cf. Rebecca E. Ritter, Five Decades: John Biggers and the Hampton Art Tradition, Hampton, Va., Hampton University Museum, 1990. cf. Sherri Fisher Staples, Director, Stories of Illumination and Growth [video recording]: John Biggers' Hampton Murals, Newport News, VA, Cinebar Productions, Inc. 1992. cf. Alvia J. Wardlaw, The Art of John Biggers: View from the Upper Room, Houston, Museum of Fine Arts, in association with Harry N. Abrams, 1995. cf. Steve Starger, "Wadsworth Athenaeum/Hartford: John Biggers: View from the Upper Room," ART NEW ENGLAND, 17, October/November 1996, pp. 56-57. cf. Opal Baker and E. Barry Gaither, "Biggers Retrospective: Two Venues Two Views," INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART, 14, no. 3, 1997, pp. 53-55. cf. Curtia James, "John Biggers: View from the Upper Room," Art Papers, 22, no. 2 (March/April 1998): 61. cf. Jeanne Zeidler, "John T. Biggers: 1924-2001," International Review of African American Art, 17, no. 3 (2000): 64.Exhibition HistoryDayton Cultural Center, 2001. "Jacob Lawrence and Friends," G.R. N’Namdi Gallery, Detroit, March-May 2002 (no cat.). Toledo Museum of Art, Student Curators Present: African Art, April 27-July 24, 2012 (Hitchcock Gallery).