Cover Study
Date2005
Artist
Jerry Pinkney
(American Illustrator, 1939–2021)
Illustration CitationThe Old African, by Julius Lester (New York: Dial Press, 2005)
MediumWatercolor and graphite on paper
Dimensionscomposition: 12 1/4 × 10 3/16 in. (31.1 × 25.9 cm)
sheet: 12 13/16 × 10 7/16 in. (32.5 × 26.5 cm)
sheet: 12 13/16 × 10 7/16 in. (32.5 × 26.5 cm)
Credit LineAcquisition Fund, 2018
Object number2018-10
On View
On viewCollections
ClassificationsDRAWING
Label TextThis watercolor is a cover study for the children’s book The Old African. In a tale that interweaves mythology and history, the title character uses both spiritual powers and defiance to lead his fellow enslaved people on a magical journey across the ocean to their African homes. The ships in the background are reminiscent of Howard Pyle's pirate vessel in Attack On a Galleon (the adjacent) Peggy H. Woolard Howard Pyle gallery.
