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Museum object · Visual Arts

Black Profile

1973

Smithsonian NMAAHC collection

COLLECTION RECORDImage not availableExplore the catalog description and source record.
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Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A color linocut in blue, yellow, black and brown depicting a woman’s profile with yellow orb in the background. The woman appears in the bottom third of the image, facing the right side, depicted in black ink against a blue background. She wears a necklace, in white with tinge of blue, and her brown hair flows behind her to surround a white and blue orb. Above the woman’s head, the center section of the print depicts a mass of yellow and blue swirling shapes outlined in black. At the top center of the print is a bright yellow sun, outlined in black against a yellow background with a swathe of black across the top. Beneath the image in the bottom margin, handwritten in graphite is the title [Black Profile] at left, [7/50] at center, and the artist’s signature [James L. Wells ‘73] at right.

Sources & collection details

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗

Source collection ↗

Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

Catalog reference: 2023.111.92

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