S O G A T A New York, NY, “Costume for a String Quartette” Watercolor and pencil on paper 1930

S O G A T A   New York, NY

“Costume for a String Quartette”   1930

Watercolor and pencil on paper

Signed: COSTUME FOR A STRING QUARTETTE. SOGATA. LONDON: 1930. ESPECIALLY FOR CARL VAN V. with script signature (in pencil on lower left and beneath image)

For contextual history and similar art see: Rhapsodies in Black : Art of the Harlem Renaissance,(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); Harlem Renaissance Artists. Jordan, Denise (Chicago: Heinemann Library, 2003).

Paper H: 14 7/8″ x W: 10 7/8 ”

Image H: 14″ x W: 10 1/2″

Frame H: 20 1/2” x W: 17 1/4”

*This SOGATA New York Watercolor and pencil on paper has been gifted to The Wolfsonian – FIU, Miami Beach, FL.

Carl van Vechten (1880-1964), to whom this artwork is dedicated, was an influential novelist, critic, and photographer in New York during the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. His role in the Harlem Renaissance is well-documented. Van Vechten also introduced Miguel Covarrubias, a caricaturist and contemporary of Sogata, to prominent Manhattan artistic and society circles.