Samuel Joseph Brown, Jr.

Self-Portrait, ca. 1941. Samuel Joseph Brown, Jr. Watercolor, charcoal, and graphite on paper. Gift of Pennsylvania W. P. A., 1943.
Brown gained international acclaim as an accomplished watercolorist, and here he uses the medium to present his own image through flattened forms and matte surfaces. Enclosed by the deep blue tonalities of an indistinct interior, he conveys a pensive mood as he gazes into a mirror, setting up an echo chamber of dualities. We see the artist, implausibly, in both profile and three-quarter views; he contemplates himself in the mirror, while his reflection stares at us. After completing a master’s degree in Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania, Brown became the first African American hired by the U.S. government’s inaugural work-relief program for the arts, and he later worked for the Works Progress Administration in Philadelphia.