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LOÏS MAILOU JONES (1915 - 2012)
Portrait of Richard B. Harrison (De Lawd)
.
Charcoal on illustration board, 1930. 597x464 mm; 23
1
/
2
x18
1
/
4
inches. Signed and dated in charcoal,
lower right.
Provenance: acquired directly from the artist; the collection of Professor John R.Willis and Anne
Willis, Highstown, NJ.
Richard Berry Harrison (1864 - 1935) was a renowned actor, teacher, dramatic reader and lecturer.
The son of fugitive slaves who had fled to Canada, Harrison was born in London, Ontario. At the
peak of his career in 1935, he was featured on the cover of
TIME
. Harrison became extremely well
known after playing “de Lawd” in more than 1,650 performances of Marc Connelly’s play,
The
Green Pastures
, which opened on Broadway on February 26, 1930. The show ran for 16 months,
then went on tour, appearing in more than 200 cities and towns.
[2,000/3,000]