Oil on Board Painting of a Casual Ball Game, Attributed to Allan Rohan Crite (1910-2007)

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This oil-on-board painting by Allan Rohan Crite (1910-2007) captures a casual neighborhood sports game, a theme that defines his early … Read more This oil-on-board painting by Allan Rohan Crite (1910-2007) captures a casual neighborhood sports game, a theme that defines his early 1930s career. Crite was a prominent African American "artist-reporter" based primarily in Boston's South End.

SUBJECT: A casual ball game (likely baseball, softball, or stickball) is being played in an urban lot or playground setting. A young boy stands prominently in the foreground holding a mitt or ball, while other figures are dispersed in active stances across the field. The background showcases industrial or school architecture, anchoring the scene firmly within an urban neighborhood setting.

STYLE: Characterized by Crite's signature narrative urban realism, simplified figurative forms, and a neutral, muted color palette that captures the atmosphere of ordinary daily life without romanticizing or stereotyping its subjects. Crite famously stated that he wanted to paint the "real Negro" as an ordinary component of American society, contrasting his quiet neighborhood depictions with the flashy, nightlife-centric "jazz Negro" imagery popularized by white patrons looking into Harlem. While many Harlem artists embraced graphic modernism, bold abstraction, or West African stylistic motifs, Crite was heavily influenced by his academic training at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. His work combined traditional European atmospheric realism (one-point perspective, muted colors) with American scene painting.

ON THE REVERSE: "Painting By Allan Crite / Black art / circa 1936" is noted in pencil. Additionally, a small newspaper clipping attached to the back references the sale of a major 1934 masterpiece by the artist titled "Late Afternoon." That specific variant painting, “a variant of a nearly identical painting in the collection of the Boston Athenaeum in Roxbury, Mass.” soared past its $25,000–$45,000 estimate to realize $94,400 (or $100,800 with premium) at Vermont-based Merrill's Auctioneers in July 2024.

PRIMARY INSTITUTION COLLECTIONS:
The Boston Athenæum holds the largest public collection of Allan Rohan Crite's paintings and watercolors. Beyond his hometown of Boston, his prolific institutional footprint spans several of the nation's premier institutions.
The Smithsonian American Art Museum holds iconic 1930s and 40s paintings from his neighborhood chronicling era, including the masterpiece Sunlight and Shadow (1941). The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) acquired and exhibited his milestone work Parade on Hammond Street during his early career. The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., holds major early narrative urban works. The Art Institute of Chicago preserves highly significant examples of his mid-century paintings and sketches.
Because Crite was heavily devoted to the New England community, several specialized cultural venues in Massachusetts maintain core sections of his estate: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists (NCAAA), Museum of African American History (MAAH), Boston, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (partners closely with his estate and research institute to conserve and exhibit his religious and secular works).

Signature/Maker’s Mark: Nonexistent, but identification with date verso (photo #8). See less