Any help with this artwork?

[hogan36]

I'm not sure if it is painted on canvas or what. Does anyone have any idea about this? It appears the name may be Ferguson on here (not for certain). Any way I can identify the name of the artwork and the artist who did it?



Thank you for your help!

 

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[Back-of-the-boat]

Try John Kenneth Ferguson.

 

[Red-Coat]

If the suggestion for John Kenneth Ferguson means the South African artist of that name, I'm sure it's not. It’s not typical of his work, nor is it his signature (below):



Also, he died in 1967 and the picture has to be rather later than that. There are some dating clues in the display of iconic black people (all American?) the kid is looking at. Some of them can be approximately dated and some more exactly. Sixth one looks like it might be Coretta Scott King (Martin Luther’s wife) at the Lincoln Memorial in 1968. First one is Colin Powell, first African-American Secretary of State from 2001-2005, but he first came to prominence as national security advisor in 1987.

But the most reliable ‘earliest possible’ date comes from the second picture, which is of Mae Carol Jemison, the first black woman in space. Note that she’s holding a model of the NASA space shuttle. She was mission-selected for ‘Endeavour’ on 28 September 1989 and spent eight days in space from 12-20 September 1992 so the picture can’t be any earlier than her fame as an astronaut.

The work has some stylistic similarity to ‘plein air’ paintings by Nancy Maybin Ferguson but doesn’t exhibit her degree of talent. In any case, she also died in 1967.

I think this is modern (1990s) amateur work from an artist that may not be easily traced.

 

[DCMatt]

Excellent observations Red-Coat. I will add that the hurdler is wearing a USA Olympic uniform from 1992.

 

[CreakyDigger]

Also, the girl is holding a cup from the Duke Art Museum. You might try contacting them.

 

[Red-Coat]

Excellent observations Red-Coat. I will add that the hurdler is wearing a USA Olympic uniform from 1992.

Thanks. Yes, I wondered about that. I think the US Athletics team wore essentially the same vest design in the 1993 World Championships and I wasn't sure if it was also worn before the 1992 Olympics.

I thought it might be Kevin Young, who took the gold medal for the 400m hurdles in both the '92 Olympics (with a record that stood for 28 years) and in the '93 World Championships. There are no pictures of him with hair as long as that, though.