Source material for Tribute to the American Working People. Schoolchildren, ca. 1945

Physical Details: Photographic print : 1 item : b&w ; 25 x 21 cm.

Creator: Honoré Desmond Sharrer (1920-), photographer

Description: Picture of two young boys, and two young girls (on verso), used for inspiration for the Public School scene in Sharrer's polyptych Tribute to the American Working People.

Identification on verso (handwritten): "When first starting to develop the Public School Scene, I wanted to have among the other children a Negro and white boy with their arms around each other. I was always on the lookout for that situation in the schools I visited, and when it never materialised I created the situation by asking a Negro boy and a white boy to pose. I did this several times, but the results were always false. They were obviously posing and there was no friendship there. Later I found the right feeling with a little Negro girl who posed with her best friend. It is they who are in the Public School Scene. Coronado, Calif."

Forms part of: Honoré Sharrer papers, ca. 1927-2002

Citation: Source material for Tribute to the American Working People. Schoolchildren, ca. 1945 / Honoré Desmond Sharrer, photographer. Honoré Sharrer papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

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Digital ID: 7818

Subjects:

• Artists' models
• Children

View all Image Gallery items from the Honoré Sharrer papers