60

Margaret Taylor Burroughs

(1917-2010)

The Fire Next Time.

Oil on linen canvas, 1968.
Signed and dated in oil, lower right recto. Titled, dated and inscribed in ink on the verso.
28 x 22 in. (71.1 x 55.9 cm.)

  • Provenance:
    Gift from the artist.
    Marilyn Birden, Chicago.
    Acquired from the Birden family, private collection, Michigan.
  • Notes:
    This bold, almost abstract painting was inspired by James Baldwin's 1963 non-fiction work of the same title. Margaret and Charles Burroughs' famous salon in Bronzeville was attended by Baldwin.
    In 1968, when this work was created, Burroughs was a teacher at DuSable High School on Chicago's south side and taught African American art and culture at Elmhurst College. The same year, Burroughs also published one of her own highly regarded poetry collections, What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black?.
  • Condition:
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October 7, 2025 12:00 PM EDT
New York, NY, US

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