Picaninny

James Dowd was born in Sheffield and studied at the local school of art. Aged 15 he started work as for the Sheffield Telegraph. He made his reputation as an illustrator, particularly as a lively and sympathetic draughtsman of children, as seen in this print. Dowd was also a competent portrait painter exhibiting regularly at the Royal Academy. He contributed illustrations to books and publications, including Punch, here his quick sketches in the weekly film review. He also contributed illustrations for the acclaimed publications, Important People (1933), People of Importance (1934), and Serious Business (1937).

This drypoint portrait of a small black girl is characterised by remarkable affection and empathy, which today seem very much at variance with its title though this would not have been the case at the time of its creation in the 1920s. Originally used in a neutral or even affectionate way among slaves in the West Indies, the term 'picaninny' is perceived as insulting today. Is there a case for retrospectively renaming the work if it is ever exhibited, as has been applied to certain paintings by C.F. Goldie?

See: British Council Visual Arts, http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/collection/artists/dowd-james-h-1884/initial/d

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art   April 2018