Negro Pharaoh (1934)

This page presents "Negro Pharaoh" (1934), created by Malvin Gray Johnson. Figurative in brief: Over the centuries, painters have used the figure to express social standing, narrative, and emotion. Portraits, group scenes, studies of the nude, and pictures of daily life all belong to figurative art. Historical background, 1934: The first decades of the twentieth century were a period of rapid experiment, with Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism, and the first abstract painting appearing within a few years of each other. Dada and Surrealism followed the First World War, the Bauhaus school was founded in 1919, and Art Deco became the fashionable decorative style of the 1920s and 1930s. It is listed in the Figurative collection. The image is in landscape orientation.

Buying "Negro Pharaoh" means getting a digital file, not a physical print: Digital JPEG + PDF files, 300 DPI, delivered by email once payment is confirmed. A 300 DPI file is intended for printing at home or at a local print shop, where you can choose a matte, satin, or fine-art paper to suit the room. A landscape format suits wide, low wall spaces such as the stretch above a bed, mantel, or sideboard. A simple frame with a mat often helps an image settle comfortably into a room. Screens and printers render colour differently, so a small test print is a sensible way to check tones before committing to a large size. Matte and fine-art papers reduce glare in bright rooms, while glossy papers give stronger contrast and deeper blacks. Hang the print away from direct sunlight, which over the years can fade any printed colour.

American, 1896–1934

If you like the visual language of Malvin Gray Johnson, explore more works by the same artist in our collection.