Susanna and the Elders (Novelty Hotel)

1980

American, 1925 - 2009

Here Robert Colescott turns to the biblical subject matter often found in Western art, re-creating the Old Testament story of Susanna and the Elders—in which lecherous voyeurs secretly observe a young woman bathing and falsely accuse her of adultery—as a scene in a seedy hotel bathroom. The Elders—two custodians here, one Black and one white—are 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 in the problematic idolization of European beauty, including the artist himself, who peeps 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.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Poke in the Eye: Art of the West Coast Counterculture, June 21 - September 2, 2024.

Published ReferencesSims, Lowery Stokes. "Bob Colescott Ain't Just Misbehavin'". Artforum 22, no. 7 (March 1984).

Sims, Lowery Stokes, and Mitchell D. Kahan. Robert Colescott: A Retrospective, 1975-1986, exh. cat. San Jose, California: San Jose Museum of Art, 1987, p. 13, fig. 18.

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