{"id":9709,"date":"2020-06-09T11:04:40","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T15:04:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewestmoreland.org\/?p=9709"},"modified":"2022-04-14T16:40:50","modified_gmt":"2022-04-14T20:40:50","slug":"palmer-haydens-the-janitor-who-paints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewestmoreland.org\/blog\/palmer-haydens-the-janitor-who-paints\/","title":{"rendered":"Palmer Hayden’s The Janitor Who Paints"},"content":{"rendered":"
Artist Palmer Hayden\u2019s The Janitor Who Paints<\/em> features the common theme of an artist in his studio, but in 1969, he described this painting as \u201ca sort of protest painting\u201d of his own economic and social standing as well as that of his fellow African Americans.<\/p>\n Hayden himself had to take odd jobs to support himself and was acutely aware of the economic difficulties that many black artists experience. The inspiration for this painting Hayden said came from his friend Cloyd Boykin, also an artist, who supported himself through janitorial work: \u201cI painted it because no one called Boykin the artist. They called him the janitor.\u201d The Janitor Who Paints<\/em> has often been regarded as both a self-portrait and a statement on adversity. (2)<\/p>\n