JAY PAUL JACKSON (1905-1954)
Etta Moten Barnett dancing. Illustration created for the American Negro Exposition, circa 1940. Watercolor on paper. 317x240 mm; 12½x9½. Signed "Jay Jackson" in pencil, lower right corner. Archivallty float-mounted, matted, and framed to 18x14 inches. Jackson was a prolific artist and cartoonist whose work appeared in the Chicago Defender, a Black newspaper, in the 1940s. Battling racism in the industry, Jackson formed his own feature syndicate in the 1950s to distribute his "Home Folks" cartoon, a humorous, bird’s-eye view of the Black experience in the United States.Etta Moten Barnett (1901-2004) was a pioneering singer and actress who expanded roles for African-American women on stage and screen. She was best known for her celebrated role as "Bess" in the musical "Porgy and Bess" and was invited to perform at the White House. In addition to her career, she was a politcial delegate, civic activist and philanthropist.