Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Artist
James Huff
American, 1949–2017
Date1979
MediumOil and acrylic on canvas
Dimensions61 1/4 x 40 in. (155.6 x 101.6 cm)
Frame: 62 1/2 x 41 1/4 x 2 in. (158.8 x 104.8 x 5.1 cm)
Frame: 62 1/2 x 41 1/4 x 2 in. (158.8 x 104.8 x 5.1 cm)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LinePurchased with funds from the State of North Carolina and the Museum Special Gift Fund
Object number79.1.3
On View
Not on viewRadiating from the center are a sequence of faces, meant to represent the same figure as both boy and man. As Huff’s figure ages, visions of Africa and African masquerade allude to ancestral masculine forms. By layering these images of past, present, and future, Huff draws connections between African diasporic traditions and African American progress.
[L. Applebaum,"The People's Collection, Reimagined," 2022]ProvenanceCreated North Carolina, 1979; collection of the artist; sold to NCMA, 1979.Published References41st North Carolina Artists Exhibition (exhibition catalogue) (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 1979), cat. no. 32, illus. (b-w).
Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "41st North Carolina Artists Exhibition," April 1-May 6, 1979, cat. no. 32, illus. (b-w) (Gold Medal Winner); "Recent Acquisitions," November 8, 1979-May, 1980.
Statesville, NC, Arts and Science Museum, "Silver Anniversary Exhibition," September 14-28, 1980.
Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, “To Be Young: Coming of Age in the Contemporary,” April 3, 2021–February 6, 2022.
Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–October 30, 2023. Object Rights Statement
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