New York Subway The Scrubwoman Tile

Satin finish
Baroness Anne Marguerite Henriette de Marigny
Hyde de Neuville (ca. 1776-1849
)Watercolor and graphite on paper, (1953.251)
Inscribed in ink at lower edge of sheet: "Costume de Serabeuse, d'apres Jene niece de Martha Church"

In the caption of this drawing, Baroness Hyde de Neuville identifies the woman as, "scrubwoman." This is one of the few depictions of a black woman with the tools of her labor. A companion portrait, Cook in Ordinary Costume, bears a similar inscription that suggests that the two portraits were probably created on the same leg of Hyde de Neuville's tour of the United States and perhaps even in the same sitting. Nothing more is known about these women; their names and stories are lost. Yet the images are notable as some of the earliest of black Americans. They are furthermore remarkable for their objectivity: in a time when so many depictions of black Americans were caricatured to serve racist implications, these women look much as the eye might have seen them. Perhaps, as an expatriate, exiled from her native France, de Neuville was less committed to the white American fears and prejudices that led to such distortions. Whatever the case, these unique watercolors depict black American women with a rare honesty in typical occupations of their time.

Comes w/ hanging hardware affixed. Available without hardware, special order allow 3 weeks delivery.