Wright Ave. and High St. (Little Rock)

1942

American, 1911 - 2000

James W. Washington Jr. was making corrective shoes for the government in Little Rock, Arkansas, when he decided to paint "a street which appeared quite interesting." It was an omen of the change to come-a few years later, he decided to move to Seattle and became a student of Mark Tobey, who traded one of his portraits for this painting. In 1951, Washington went on a trip to Mexico and picked up a rock while walking amidst the pyramids at Teotihuacán. He kept the stone for five years, while he cultivated his "zenith," a word which the artist used to describe the potential for greatness in every person.

Oil on canvas

14 3/16 x 22 3/16 in. (36 x 56.3 cm)

Gift of the Estate of Mark Tobey

87.29

Provenance: Collection of Mark Tobey; gift from Tobey estate to Seattle Art Museum, 1987

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistoryBellevue, Washington, Bellevue Art Museum, "The Spirit In The Stone: The Visionary Art Of James W. Washington, Jr.", March 11 - April 16, 1989. (03/11/1989 - 04/16/1989)

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Africa in America," December 18, 2004 - January 1, 2006

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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