ARTISTS WE LOVE: Horace Pippin

WHO: Horace Pippin

WHAT: Painter

WHERE: Pennsylvania, USA

WHEN: 22 February 1888 – 6 July 1946

Horace Pippin is best known for his striking oil paintings, which depicted the American landscapes around him and scenes from his heritage. At a young age and throughout his World War I service in the famous Harlem Hellfighters 369th infantry, Horace drew the scenes around him. As a form of rehabilitation after being shot in the shoulder, Horace continued creating art and eventually moved to oil paintings. His paintings find a unique place of maturity and folk art, as the colors, textures, and dimensionality give voice to Pippin’s perspective on slavery, segregation, the Great Depression, and American life. You can find a curated selection of his works and other Black artists in our new “Harlem Renaissance” gallery.

“When I was a boy I loved to make pictures, [but war] brought out all the art in me.  I can never forget suffering and I will never forget sunsets. So I came home with all of it in my mind and I paint from it today.” -Horace Pippin

Domino Players, Horace Pippin, 1943

Self-Portrait II, Horace Pippin, 1944

Victorian Interior I, Horace Pippin, 1945

John Brown Going to His Hanging, Horace Pippin, 1942

Lady of the Lake, Horace Pippin, ca. 1936

The Great Emancipator, Horace Pippin, 1942