Untitled

Artist John Biggers American, 1924–2001

Date1994

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions40 1/4 x 40 1/4 in. (102.2 x 102.2 cm)
Frame: 42 1/8 x 42 1/8 in. (107 x 107 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the North Carolina State Art Society (Robert F. Phifer Bequest)

Object number2001.13

On View

On view

Label TextIn Untitled, a multidimensional scene that fuses imagery from the black American South and Africa, Biggers includes Akan combs. These combs feature a bird that represents the term sankofa, a Twi word from the Akan people of Ghana that means “to go back and get it,” or return to your past. By including the sankofa bird, Biggers reflects on the idea of looking back to one’s African heritage to help inform one’s present and future self.
[T. Smith, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," 2025]ProvenanceCreated United States, 1994; collection of the artist, Houston, TX, and Gastonia, NC; sold to Dr. Rahn Hall, Houston, 1994 [?]; [Art Ventures/Kathleen Coleman Gallery, Houston]; sold to NCMA, 2001.Published References"New and on View," Preview: The Magazine of the North Carolina Museum of Art (September/October 2002), discussed 10, illus. (color) 10.

"Arts briefs: The collection grows," Raleigh: The News & Observer (January 13, 2002), briefly discussed and illus (b-w) 9G, detail (color) 1G.

John W. Coffey, entry for Untitled, in North Carolina Museum of Art: Handbook of the Collections, rev. ed. (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 2010), 540, illus. (color) 541.
Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "Objects of Desire: The Museum Collects, 1994-2004," July 18, 2004-February 27, 2005.

Savannah, GA, Telfair Museum of Art's Jepson Center for the Arts, "Fast Forward: Three Decades of Contemporary Art from the North Carolina Museum of Art," January 23-April 27, 2008.

Wilmington, NC, Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum, "Bearden to Ruscha: Contemporary Art from the North Carolina Museum of Art," May 22, 2008-May 17, 2009.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–present. Object Rights Statement

The North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) makes images of its collection available online to support research and scholarship and to inform and educate the public. Certain works of art, as well as the photographs of those works of art, may be protected by copyright, trademark, or related interests not owned by the NCMA. The responsibility for ascertaining whether any such rights exist and for obtaining all other necessary permissions remains with the applicant. To request images and/or permissions from the NCMA, please complete our online request form.