Collections: American Art: Illustration for "George Washington Jones: A Christmas Gift That Went A-Begging"

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Illustration for "George Washington Jones: A Christmas Gift That Went A-Begging"

Demeaning racial stereotyping persisted in American culture long after the Emancipation Proclamation, as evidenced by Ruth McEnery Stuart’s George Washington Jones. In this sentimental novel, a young African American orphan finds his way in Reconstruction-era New Orleans by emulating his late, enslaved grandfather, who had been given as a Christmas present to be the personal servant of the master’s daughter. In Edward Henry Potthast’s illustration, the protagonist checks his bedraggled appearance before calling on potential employers and laments, “Wush’t I was a little purtier.” In what is presented as a happy twist of fate, George gets hired by the same family his grandfather served. Stuart’s stories gained widespread popularity in her day for their vivid portrayals of southern characters and dialects. A tale such as George Washington Jones also functioned to assuage white audiences’ anxieties about postwar racial tensions by suggesting that blacks were content to reproduce old social hierarchies and patterns of faithful servitude under slavery.

Artist: Edward Henry Potthast, American, 1857-1927
Medium: Watercolor, charcoal and white crayon on cream, medium-weight, slightly textured wove paper.
Dates: 1903
Dimensions: Sheet: 19 3/4 x 14 13/16 in. (50.2 x 37.6 cm) Image: 14 1/16 x 8 7/8 in. (35.7 x 22.5 cm) (show scale)
Signature: Signed in charcoal, lower right, "E. Potthast"
Collections:American Art
Museum Location: This item is on view in Robert E. Blum Gallery, 1st Floor
Exhibitions:
- Fine Lines: American Drawings from the Brooklyn Museum (March 8, 2013 through May 26, 2013)
Accession Number: 33.392
Credit Line: Peter F. Schofield Fund
Rights Statement: No known copyright restrictions
This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement.

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Caption: Edward Henry Potthast (American, 1857-1927). Illustration for "George Washington Jones: A Christmas Gift That Went A-Begging," 1903. Watercolor, charcoal and white crayon on cream, medium-weight, slightly textured wove paper., Sheet: 19 3/4 x 14 13/16 in. (50.2 x 37.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Peter F. Schofield Fund, 33.392
Image: overall, 33.392_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don't yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

Catalogue Description: Reproduced as an illustration in Ruth McEnery Stuart, "George Washington Jones: A Christmas Gift That Went A-Begging" (Philadelphia: Henry Altemus Company, 1903), facing p. 28, with the caption, "'Wush't I was a little purtier,' he lamented."
Record Completeness: Best (87%)
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.

reconstruction era [x]		fine lines [x]
New Orleans [x]		race [x]
racial relations [x]		poverty [x]
black history [x]		IMLS [x]
black [x]		illustration [x]
Illustration for 'George Washington Jones: A Christmas Gift That Went A-Begging' [x]		African-American [x]
Chinese white [x]		book [x]
american [x]		baseball cap [x]
wash [x]		boy [x]
Edward Henry Potthast [x]		George Washington Jones [x]
charcoal [x]		mirror [x]
rafters [x]		drawing [x]

Separate each tag with a space: painting portrait.

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Tags by Posse members

corka (5)
- reconstruction era
- race
- fine lines
- New Orleans
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Axelle (4)
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- race
- black history
- racial relations
not_here (1)
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moriah11 (14)
- Chinese white
- wash
- charcoal
- black
- African-American
- baseball cap
- George Washington Jones
- Illustration for 'George Washington Jones: A Christmas Gift That Went A-Begging'
- american
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- illustration
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hynek (1)
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