JOHN BIGGERS (1924 - 2001)
Untitled (Seated African Woman).

Graphite on buff laid paper, 1957. 610x483 mm; 24x19 inches. Signed and dated in pencil, lower right.

Provenance: the estate of Richard Dietz, Houston; private collection, Texas.

This drawing, likely from Ghana, is a very good example of John Biggers' works on paper from his African travels - one of many drawings of women. Biggers said that "Africa has a female sensibility", and "the woman was so powerful in African culture." In 1957, Biggers was one of the first African American artists to visit Africa, sponsored by a UNESCO fellowship to study and record traditional African culture. In addition to Ghana, John and his wife Hazel visited Togo, the Republic of Benin and Nigeria over a six month period. Ghana had only just achieved its independence from Britain in March of that year. Biggers also illustrated eighty-three of his drawings from this African period in his book Ananse: The Web of Life in Africa published in 1962.