On View
On viewObject number2019.3
American Woman: Columbia
Artist
Tylonn Sawyer
(American, 1976-)
Date2018
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensionscanvas: 48 × 5 × 1 1/2 in. (121.9 × 152.4 × 3.8 cm)
Credit LineElisabeth Claire Lahti Fund
Exhibition History"Unveiling American Genius," KIA Permanent Collection Exhibition, Traditional, Markin, Nay and Groos Galleries (March 1, 2021 - December 31, 2023).
"EXPO Chicago 2023" Chicago, Navy Pier (April 11 - 14, 2023).
"Legendary Voices: Art for the Next Century," KIA (September 7 - February 18, 2025)Label TextTylonn Sawyer delivers a powerful portrait of Scheherazade Washington Parris—a poet known within the Detroit creative community for her insightful and searing lyricism. He presents her as Columbia, the goddess of liberty and the personification of America. This painting serves as one of Sawyer’s commentaries about Black women and others overlooked by history. Washington as Columbia looks confidently outward with an electrifying intensity. The artist contrast of the American flag and the Louisville Slugger baseball bat, symbols of American pride, play, and protest, is striking. The “slugger” perhaps references Black athletes, who used sports to break down color barriers, and those who continue to call for equity and justice in their respective arenas. Sawyer’s Columbia is a heady visualization of the determination that continues to inspire freedom in America.
