Winold Reiss, 16 Sep 1886 - 29 Aug 1953 - Countee Cullen - c. 1925 - T-Shirt

A head-and-shoulders pastel portrait of the poet Countee Cullen, turned in near profile with his eyes lowered in quiet thought.

Visual Elements & Composition

Warm brown and rose tones model the face through soft, blended shading, and they dominate the centre of the image. A black bow tie sits at the collar of a white shirt, while the jacket is drawn in light grey lines that dissolve into the cream ground. The background stays largely unworked, with faint tonal passages around the head. The signature "WINOLD REISS" sits in the lower left corner.

Meaning & Symbolism

The averted profile and downward gaze give the sitter an introspective character, absorbed in thought rather than meeting the viewer. Reiss made portraits like this in Harlem in the 1920s to present African American figures of literary and intellectual standing with dignity and individuality. Winold Reiss (1886-1953) was a German-born painter who settled in the United States, and his pastel and crayon portraits of the mid-1920s form a notable part of his output. Countee Cullen was a poet of the Harlem Renaissance, and this study is one of the Reiss portraits from that period. The original is held in the National Portrait Gallery collection.

On the Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee

A bust-length portrait on a vertical sheet suits a tee, because the figure's shoulders and collar sit where the shirt's own shoulders and neckline fall. The bow tie lands at the collar, so the face rises above the chest as it does on the original sheet. Worn, the portrait keeps its restraint: a pale ground, a single figure, and a face that holds the eye.