Go Down Moses
c. 1945
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
black crayon over graphite on board
Dimensions
sheet: 51 × 37.7 cm (20 1/16 × 14 13/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of the P. Bruce Marine and Donald Hardy Collection
Accession Number
2022.148.11
Art Historical Context
**Go Down Moses** is a compelling drawing by Charlesston, created around 1945. Alston, a pioneering African American artist associated with the Harlem Renaissance and Works Progress Administration (WPA), was renowned for his versatile style blending realism, abstraction, and social commentary. work, executed in black crayon over graphite on (51 × 37.7 cm), captures his mastery of mixed media, where the fluidity of crayon builds bold, expressive forms atop precise graphite underdrawings—a technique ideal for studies or standalone pieces evoking emotion and movement. The title draws from the ic...