CHARLES ALSTON (1907 - 1977) Study for Mother and Child.
Pastels on joined sheets of thin wove paper, mounted on black wove paper, 1950. Approximately 2030x230 mm; 80x9 inches. With the artist's estate ink stamp, lower margin.
Provenance: the artist's estate; private New York collection.
This monumental drawing is a life-size study for the 7-foot mahogany sculpture by the artist currently in a private collection. By the late 1940s, Alston incorporated the Cubist influences of Picasso and Léger in his paintings. He was also influenced by Modigliani in his wood carvings - he appreciated the influence of African art on Modigliani's elongated figures. In 1950, Alston became the first African-American instructor at the Art Students League in New York, and was included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Painting Today exhibition. Kenkeleba pp. 14 and 24.
