Accession Number
2002/1.194

Title
Two Girls

Artist(s)
Blanch Ackers

Object Creation Date
1990-1999

Medium & Support
crayon on paper

Dimensions
12 in x 17 15/16 in (30.48 cm x 45.56 cm);15 1/8 in x 20 15/16 in (38.42 cm x 53.18 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of The Daniel and Harriet Fusfeld Folk Art Collection

Label copy
The daughter of a poor Arkansas sharecropper, Ackers moved to the Detroit, Michigan area in 1943 to work in a wartime factory, and then to Ypsilanti, Michigan where she lives permanently. In 1985, Ackers began to work in the Willow Run School District as part of the Foster Grandparent Program run by Child and Family Services. While working at Ford Elementary School in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Ackers was introduced to drawing and watercolor painting by Christine Hennessy, an art teacher.
Lindsay Meehan
Modern and Contemporary Art Intern
2002

Subject matter
Ackers began creating art in her early 70s, after being inspired by an elementary school art class she was asked to assist. She comes from a rural town in Arkansas, and many of her drawings are created from memories of her life or from her imagination. This work is characteristic of Ackers' style, which is often carefully detailed while also lacking perspective and physiology. Here Ackers has depicted the jewelry of the two girls and has meticulously drawn the patterns on the dress and hat of the figure to the left while the figures are in flattened profile with no background detail.

Physical Description
An image of two girls facing each other.  The girl on the left wears a white and black patterned dress and a striped cap. The girl on the right has long brown hair and wears a white top and red skirt. The figures stand against a green background.

Primary Object Classification
Drawing

Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
African American
figures (representations)
girl
girls
grass
self-taught artists
standing