1939 Etching “Negro Tailor”

A couple times a year, I go to African American art auctions at Swann Galleries in New York. I confess that I go for the art (usually too expensive), the celeb-watching (Beyonce, civil-rights leader John Lewis) and the day-in-New York (love that city).

Usually, I leave empty-handed. But at the gallery’s first auction in 2007, I bid on a 1938 etching called “Negro Tailor” by Will Barnet. I won. I was such a newbie that I actually clapped a little when auctioneer Nicholas Lowry said “sold.” Yippy for me!

The piece that shows the quiet dignity of a tailor dressed in a business suit and hunched over a sewing machine is one of my favorites. It has become even more special because I know the history. I got that courtesy of the 97-year-old Barnet himself.

 When I got the piece, I wasn’t sure of what I had. So I asked an expert – renowned Philadelphia artist Moe Brooker. Brooker goes to a church near my own congregation and our churches fellowship several times during the year. When I saw Brooker at a church event, I happened to have the etching in the back of my car. I asked him to look at it. He said, “You have a Will Barnet!” At that moment, I knew I’d done okay. Brooker told me that he knew Barnet and that he was living in Manhattan. That’s all he had to say. I’m a newspaper reporter. I tracked him down.

I called Barnet’s home and his wife answered. She said that he was taking a nap, and suggested that I call back in a couple of hours. I did and Barnet came to the phone.

He told me that he had done the piece for an artistic competition that was part of the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. He said it won an award. The piece was signed by Barnet and he had also written “To Dorothy Lewis” at the bottom. Barnet said he couldn’t remember anything about her.

 He mentioned that he and his wife had bid on the piece via a surrogate at the Swann auction.  My spirits sunk for a moment. I felt badly. Barnet told me not to. He urged me to enjoy the piece. Today, “Negro Tailor” hangs on my living room wall – a few pieces down from one by Moe Brooker. 

He mentioned that he and his wife had bid on the piece via a surrogate at the Swann auction.  My spirits sunk for a moment. I felt badly. Barnet told me not to. He urged me to enjoy the piece. Today, “Negro Tailor” hangs on my living room wall – a few pieces down from one by Moe Brooker.

  – K. Holmes, Philadelphia