The Piper

1953

Hughie Lee-Smith American, 1915 - 1999

On View

African American, Level 2, North Wing

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About the Artwork

Lee-Smith, an African-American painter who grew up in Cleveland, lived and worked in Detroit between the years 1945 and 1958. The Piper explores the loneliness of the urban individual and the psychological alienation of the young. Personal symbolism guides the formal construction of this work: the wall, an indicator of the difficulty of escape; the young boy, a metaphor for mankind; and music, a symbol of the longing to break free. The crumbling wall is in the shadow of a modernist building, suggesting the plight of the urban poor left behind by the growing city.

Title The Piper

Artwork Date 1953

Artist Hughie Lee-Smith

Life Dates 1915 - 1999

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. American

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Oil on composition board

Dimensions Unframed: 22 × 35 1/4 inches (55.9 × 89.5 cm) Framed: 25 5/8 × 39 3/4 × 2 3/4 inches (65.1 × 101 × 7 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department African American Art

Credit Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley J. Winkelman

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 66.391

Markings

Signed Signed, lower left: Hughie | Lee-Smith | '53

Inscriptions Signed and dated in white, lower left: Hughie | Lee-Smith | '53

Provenance

1967-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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