"Sambo" Hand Puppet c. 1937

"Sambo" Hand Puppet is a watercolor painting by Ruth Abrams, created around 1937. It depicts a hand puppet with exaggerated features, wearing a red hat, purple jacket, and black pants. The puppet's caricatured facial features reflect the racist stereotypes of the time, highlighting a painful and problematic history surrounding the "Sambo" character. This artwork provides a glimpse into the history of racial representation in American culture, serving as a reminder of the need for critical engagement with cultural artifacts.