The Hireling Shepherd

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.

An acrylic painting, in the artist’s frame, titled “The Hireling Shepherd” by Kermit Oliver. The work depicts a male figure, the titular shepherd, standing in the center of the image wearing a white, long-sleeved shirt, black pants, and black dress shoes. He stands on a dirt road, with his proper left hand on a tall wooden staff and his proper right resting on his hip. At the base of the staff is a red and black banded snake. A black and white cat sits to the proper right of the shepherd. At the edge of the road behind them is a coyote, his teeth sunk into the neck of a slain black and white sheep. In the further background to the right of the shepherd, a black and white dog is partially visible standing in the field. In the far background is a stand of trees. The painting is signed at lower left: [OLIVER].

Explore Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture ↗