José Williams Playing the Sax: Museum Object and Cultural History
José Williams Playing the Sax: Date: ca. 1970. Created by: Wadsworth Aikens Jarrell Sr., American, born 1929. Subject of: José J. Williams, American, born 1934.
The object in the museum catalogue
A portrait of artist and jazz musician, José J. Williams, in watercolor on light green wove paper by Wadsworth Jarrell. The colorful double portrait depicts two views of Williams during a live performance, surrounded and overlaid by round bursts of watercolor in black, blue, green, orange, red, pink, and yellow. In the left depiction, Williams’s eyes are closed as he leans back slightly, playing his soprano saxophone. He is painted with curly black hair and wearing a bright green shirt, yellow belt, and red fading to white trousers. In the right depiction, Williams plays in a forward, bending stance, wearing a blue shirt and pink trousers. In the bottom right corner of the painting is the artist’s signature [Wadsworth A. Jarrell] in dark blue watercolor.
Materials, dates and provenance
- Date: ca. 1970
- Created by: Wadsworth Aikens Jarrell Sr., American, born 1929
- Subject of: José J. Williams, American, born 1934
- Subject of: AfriCOBRA, founded 1968
- Type: watercolors
- Medium: watercolor on wove paper
- Dimensions: H x W: 47 3/16 × 40 3/8 in. (119.8 × 102.5 cm)
- Place depicted: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
- Topic: African American
- Topic: Art
- Topic: Communities
- Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
- Topic: Jazz (Music)
- Topic: Music
- Topic: Musicians
- Object number: 2023.46.1
- Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture
Sources and reuse
Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Wadsworth Aikens Jarrell Sr Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
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