Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2019.

Listening to Amos and Andy

Artist Robert Colescott (American, 1925-2009)

CultureAmerican

Date1982

MediumAcrylic on canvas

Dimensions84 × 72 in. (213.4 × 182.9 cm)
Overall, Frame: 84 3/4 × 72 3/4 × 2 in. (215.3 × 184.8 × 5.1 cm)

InscribedSigned and dated upper left corner: ; R Colescott ; 82

Credit LineGift of the family of Joel B. Cooper, in memory of Mary and Dudley Cooper

Object number2002.26.4

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, 256, ROW 03

DescriptionThis is an acrylic on canvas painting. This painting depicts an African American woman and boy, eating an ice cream cone, sitting on a blue couch together. They are smiling and listening to the popular radio program of Amos and Andy. In the upper yellow semicircle of the painting are two Caucasian men, Freedman F. Gosden and Charles J. Correll, doing a live radio performance of their show, Amos and Andy, in which they acted as two African American men. A sound technician, with headphones and cigarette in his mouth, works behind Amos and Andy.

Label TextRobert Colescott American, 1925–2009 Listening to Amos and Andy, 1982 Acrylic on canvas A painting is like a catalyst. It can't tell a very complicated story. The complication comes in what you are doing in your mind. –Robert Colescott By layering satirical imagery, Robert Colescott uses humor to expose viewers’ own racial and sexual stereotypes. In Listening to Amos and Andy, he takes on blackface minstrelsy in the form of Amos and Andy—the long-running radio serial in which two white voice actors played black characters. In the scene above, one actor’s shadow shows the exaggerated features of racist caricatures. The other actor’s white hand takes on black skin as it extends through the radio and into the living room below. The gesture suggests the far reach of derogatory stereotypes as the two listeners smile, cheerfully entertained by the offensive portrayal. Gift of the family of Joel B. Cooper, in memory of Mary and Dudley Cooper 2002.26.4 ProvenanceSemaphore Gallery, New York, 1982; Joel B. Cooper, Norfolk, Va., 1982-2002; Gift in memory of Mary and Dudley Cooper from the family of Joel B. Cooper to Chrysler Museum of Art, 2002. Exhibition History"Robert Colescott," Semaphore Gallery, New York, N.Y., November 3-27, 1982. "1983 Whitney Biennial," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, N.Y., March 15 - May 29, 1983. "Hampton Roads Collects," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., July 13 - September 2, 1984. "Robert Colescott: Another Judgement," Knight Gallery, Charlotte, N.C., February 13 - April 7, 1985. "Robert Colescott: A Retrospective," San Jose Museum of Art, Calif., April 5 - May 31, 1987; Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, September 11 - November 7, 1987; The Baltimore Museum of Art, Md., January 12 - February 28, 1988; Portland Art Museum, Oreg., March 18 - May 8, 1988; Akron Art Museum, Ohio, June 18 - August 14, 1988; Museum of Art, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Okla., September 10 - November 5, 1988; Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Tex., December 3, 1988 - January 28, 1989; The New Museum, New York, N.Y., February 25 - April 22, 1989; Seattle Art Museum, Wash., May 20 - July 15, 1989. "The Bold 1980s: A Collector's Vision," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., March 19 - October, 2003. "Behind the Seen: The Chrysler's Hidden Museum," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., October 21, 2005 - February 19, 2006. "Remix: A Fresh Look At Our Modern And Contemporary Art Collections," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, November 2, 2011 - March 17, 2012. “Art and Race Matter: The Career of Robert Colescott,” The Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH, September 20, 2019 – January 12, 2020; Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR, February 15 – May 17, 2020; Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL, June 20 – September 27, 2020; Akron Art Museum, Akron, OH, October 25, 2020 – January 31, 2021. Published References_1983 Biennial Exhibition_, exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, N.Y., 1983, 19. ISBN: 0932087124 Thomas W. Sokolowski, _Hampton Roads Collects_, exh. cat., The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., 1984. ISBN: 0940744473 Ann Shengold, "Conversation with Robert Colescott," _Robert Colescott: Another Judgement_, exh. cat., Knight Gallery, Charlotte, N.C., 1985, 9-15. Lowery S. Sims and Mitchell D. Kahan, _Robert Colescott: A Retrospective 1975-1986_, exh. cat., San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, Calif., 1987, 15. ISBN: 0938175017 Organized by Miriam Roberts, _Robert Colescott: Recent Paintings_, exh. cat., 47th Venice Biennale, 1997, 32. ISBN: 189180006X Martha N. Hagood and Jefferson C. Harrison, _American Art at the Chrysler Museum: Selected Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings_ (Norfolk, Va.: Chrysler Museum of Art, 2005), 252-253, no. 155. ISBN: 0-940744-71-6 Raphaela Platow and Lowery Stokes Sims, ed., _Art and Race Matters: The Career of Robert Colescott_, (New York: Rizzoli Electa, 2019) fig. 42, page 146. Richard J. Powell, _Going There: Black Visual Satire_, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2020) 137, fig. 83.