Stud Poker

Charles Henry Alston|WPA

ca. 1938 · Lithograph · Drawings and Prints

Alston’s family moved to New York from North Carolina during the Great Migration, when millions of Black Americans sought work in northern cities. As a muralist, sculptor, and illustrator, he participated in the Harlem Renaissance and established 306—named for his studio’s address at 306 West 141st Street—as a gathering place for artists, writers, and musicians. An influential artist and teacher, Alston received a 1938 fellowship to travel south and document Black culture; this monumentalized genre image of a poker game may be based on a photograph from that trip. The choice of lithography and subject matter echo prints commissioned by the Works Progress Administration, for which Alston worked as its first African-American supervisor.

Artist

Charles Henry Alston|WPA

Date

ca. 1938

Medium

Lithograph

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of New York City W. P. A., 1943