Composition 1936

Vaughn Jackson created this small drawing entitled Composition using graphite on paper. Its abstract shapes suggest dwellings nestled in a hilly landscape. Made by an African American artist, this image can be situated within a history of Black artists who depicted vernacular architecture as a way to comment on questions of home, migration, and place within the United States. The lack of specificity in this image seems to speak to the broad experience of the mid-century African American. One can only imagine the circumstances that led to its creation. Was it a response to urban renewal programs, or perhaps the Great Migration and the search for better living conditions? It is also hard to know the context in which it was shown. Was it exhibited in a historically Black college or university, or a more mainstream institution? An understanding of this drawing relies on knowledge of the artist's biography and of the social and institutional context in which he lived and worked.