Fences 2: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A linocut likely inspired by August Wilson’s play “Fences.” The print depicts several figures in a small yard within an urban residential neighborhood. In the foreground are three figures: two figures face each other, one of them holding a baseball bat, while a boy watches from the porch railings leading into the open yard. Across the yard, a female figure with a rose on her dress watches from behind a fence. Behind her is a line of multi-story buildings. To the right, a uniformed figure is facing away from the yard, next to a vine growing along one of the buildings. The title of the print [Fences 2.] is written in pencil on the bottom left corner with [a/p] written on the bottom center. The print is signed [James L Wells ’90] on the bottom right corner in pencil.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1990
• Created by: James Lesesne Wells, American, 1902 - 1993
• Subject of: August Wilson, American, 1945 - 2005
• Type: linocuts
• Medium: ink and graphite on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 12 1/4 × 16 in. (31.1 × 40.6 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Art
• Topic: Theatre
• Object number: 2023.111.111
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Linda Grant-Wells on Behalf of the Wells Family.
• 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: © Estate of James Lesesne Wells Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.