The New Negro Escapist Social and Athletic Club (Emmett)

2008, printed 2022

Rashid Johnson

Associated Names
Rashid Johnson

Artist, American, born 1977

This black-and-white photograph shows a man depicted twice, with only his head and upper torso visible. The depictions appear to be mirrored images. He is facing directly towards the camera with a neutral expression. The man has a dark, closely cropped beard and mustache, medium-toned skin, thick eyebrows, and voluminous, curly hair that is parted dramatically to one side. He is dressed in a formal dark suit jacket over a white dress shirt and white tie. The background is solid black.

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Artwork overview

More About this Artwork

This black-and-white photograph shows a man depicted twice, with only his head and upper torso visible. The depictions appear to be mirrored images. He is facing directly towards the camera with a neutral expression. The man has a dark, closely cropped beard and mustache, medium-toned skin, thick eyebrows, and voluminous, curly hair that is parted dramatically to one side. He is dressed in a formal dark suit jacket over a white dress shirt and white tie. The background is solid black.

Article:  Twoness: Rashid Johnson’s Doubled Portrait of Emmett Till

The doubling in Johnson’s photograph recalls the paired images of Emmett Till, but it imagines him alive and thriving.

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Hauser & Wirth, New York); NGA purchase, 2022.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2022

  • The Double: Identity and Difference in Art Since 1900, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2022, no. 59.

2025

  • Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers, The Guggenheim, New York, April 18, 2025–January 19, 2026. (exhibition print)

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