Blues-1929

During our museum visit I saw a painting that caught my eye by Archibald J. Motley Jr. (1891-1981). The painting was entitled Blues. It was painted in 1929 and it was of an African American man playing in what I assume was a jazz club. What got my attention was the fact that the man who was black, was playing in a jazz club where there were white people sitting around and black people and they were sitting in the same vicinity and dancing with each other. I researched Mr Motley Jr. and found this information.
I saw that Mr. Motley Jr was one of the first of several artists to concentrate on African American life in his painting. He never worked or lived in Harlem, his work provided a foundation for much of the work that became identified with the Harlem Renaissance. He is best-known for his portraits and genre scenes of Chicago's Black Belt. I really was intrigued by his small biography and the painting.