Boy with Sunflowers
Walter Henry Williams, Danish (born United States), 1920 - 1998
1965
Color woodcut on paper
115/210
Sheet: 15 1/8 × 27 5/8 in. (38.4 × 70.2 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Museum Purchase
© Walter H. Williams
PR.967.33
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
20th century
Object Name
Research Area
Not on view
Inscriptions
Signed and dated, in graphite, lower right: Walter Williams 1965 imp.; inscribed, in graphite, lower left: 115/210; lower center: "Boy with Sunflowers"
Label
A young boy gazes outward, entranced by his surroundings, which envelop him in field of warm, bright colors, seemingly wonderstruck and unaware of any possible onlooker. Walter Williams invites us into this fantastical display of childhood innocence. Despite the artist’s growing up in Harlem and relocating to Denmark in the final years of his life, Williams’ prints were most often reminiscent of the American South. Like much of his work, Boy with Sunflowers engages with themes of escapism and tranquility.
From the 2022 exhibition This Land: American Engagement with the Natural World, curated by Jami C. Powell, Curator of Indigenous Art; Barbara J. MacAdam, former Jonathan L. Cohen Curator of American Art; Thomas H. Price, former Curatorial Assistant; Morgan E. Freeman, former DAMLI Native American Art Fellow; and Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art
"Walter H. Williams was part of a larger movement of Black Americans who chose to relocate abroad during the mid-20th century seeking refuge from the violence of the Civil Rights era. As an emerging artist, Williams often painted cityscapes that reflected the New York he knew so well. But it wasn’t until establishing himself in Denmark, that he shifted to depicting the warm world scenes that he is remembered for today. These landscapes can be viewed as freedom dreams, that are grounded in the celebration of life which Williams often used at the sunflower to symbolize. At the same time, the weight of anti-Blackness lingers, for example, the displacement or mourning that maybe felt in the presence of the upwarded tree stump that sits in the background of boy with sunflowers. This print, like much of Williams’ later work is a woodblock print, meaning it was hand carved by the artist before pressing on the ink. With multicolor prints like this one, each color requires its own carved block to make up a complete image. Looking at Boys with Sunflowers, does knowing the artist process change our understanding of the work? What do you think the intention was behind each of the color tones Williams chose to work in here?"
--Morgan E. Freeman, Former DAMLI Native American Art Fellow and current PhD student in American Studies, Yale University
From the 2022 exhibition This Land: American Engagement with the Natural World, curated by Jami C. Powell, Curator of Indigenous Art; Barbara J. MacAdam, former Jonathan L. Cohen Curator of American Art; Thomas H. Price, former Curatorial Assistant; Morgan E. Freeman, former DAMLI Native American Art Fellow; and Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art
Course History
ANTH 7.05, Animals and Humans, Laura Ogden, Winter 2022
GEOG 31.01, Postcolonial Geographies, Erin Collins, Winter 2022
ANTH 50.05, Environmental Archaeology, Madeleine McLeester, Winter 2022
ANTH 50.05, Environmental Archaeology, Madeleine McLeester, Winter 2022
ARTH 5.01, Introduction to Contemporary Art, Mary Coffey and Chad Elias, Winter 2022
ANTH 3.01, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Chelsey Kivland, Summer 2022
ANTH 3.01, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Chelsey Kivland, Summer 2022
SPAN 65.15, Wonderstruck: Archives and the Production of Knowledge in an Unequal World, Silvia Spitta and Barbara Goebel, Summer 2022
WGSS 10.01, Sex, Gender, and Society, Zahra Ayubi, Summer 2022
WGSS 10.02, Sex, Gender, and Society, Zahra Ayubi, Summer 2022
Geography 40.05, African and African American Studies 28.10, Race, Space, and Nature, Elizabeth Shoffner, Summer 2024
Exhibition History
This Land: American Engagement with the Natural World, Rush Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 5–April 11, 2022.
Provenance
International Graphic Arts Society, Inc., New York, New York; sold to present collection, 1967.
This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.
We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu