Susanna and the Elders (Novelty Hotel)

1980

American, 1925 - 2009

Like Arneson, Colescott used a "outsider's" perspective with great success. His artistic identity as an African American painter led to a lifelong practice of inventing new narrative scenarios to address the persistent racial tensions in the U.S. Classic art historical and biblical subjects proved particularly fruitful for his investigations. In this case, the artist recreates the Old Testament story of Susannah and the Elders as a scene in a seedy hotel bathrooom. The Elders, one black, one white, are here united in their desire for the blonde beauty who is about to step from the bathtub. In Colescott's interpretation of the story, everyone is implicated-including the artist who peeps in through the window.

Acrylic on canvas

84 x 72 1/8 in. (213.4 x 183.2 cm)

Mary Arrington Small Estate Acquisition Fund

84.170

Not currently on view

Media

For SAM’s My Favorite Things series in 2018, Donald Byrd, Artistic Director of Spectrum Dance Theater in Seattle, discusses Robert Colescott’s Susanna and the Elders (Novelty Hotel).

Resources

Exhibition HistorySan Jose, California, San Jose Museum of Art, Robert Colescott: A Retrospective, 1975-1986, organized by the Art Museum Association of America, Apr. 5 - May 31, 1987 (Cincinnati, Ohio, Contemporary Arts Center, Sept. 11 - Nov. 7, 1987; Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore Museum of Art, Jan. 12 - Feb. 28, 1988; Portland, Oregon, Portland Art Museum, Mar. 18 - May 8, 1988; Akron, Ohio, Akron Art Museum, June 18 - Aug. 14, 1988; Norman, Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma, Museum of Art, Sept. 10 - Nov. 5, 1988; Houston, Texas, Contemporary Arts Museum, Dec. 3, 1988 - Jan. 28, 1989; New York, New York, The New Museum, Feb. 25 - Apr. 22, 1989; Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, May 20 - July 15, 1989). Text by Lowery S. Sims and Mitchell D. Kahan.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Collection Highlights: 1945 To The Present, Sept. 12, 1996 - June 1, 1997.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Africa in America, Dec. 18, 2004 - Jan. 1, 2006.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Arneson and Colescott, Mar. 8, 2014 - Aug. 10, 2014.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum. Figuring History: Robert Colescott, Kerry James Marshall, Mickalene Thomas, Feb. 15 - May 13, 2018. Text by Catharina Manchanda. No cat. no., pp. 14-15, reproduced fig. 1.

Cincinnati, Ohio, Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati, Art and Race Matters: The Career of Robert Colescott, Sept. 20, 2019 - Jan. 12, 2020 (Portland, Oregon, Portland Art Museum, Feb. 15 - May 17, 2020). Text by Matthew Weseley and Lowery Stokes Sims. No cat. no., pp. 104-105, 240, reproduced fig. 13.

Published ReferencesSims, Lowery Stokes, and Mitchell D. Kahan. Robert Colescott: A Retrospective, 1975-1986, exh. cat. San Jose, California: San Jose Museum of Art, 1987. Ill. p. 13

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