Palmer Hayden

Palmer Hayden solidified his position as a noted Harlem Renaissance painter, painting in the African-Cubist tradition gained from living and working in both Paris and Harlem. Hayden began to study art while taking correspondence courses in drawing during his military service. In 1927 Hayden moved to Paris where he transitioned from painting scenes of marine life to stylized, abstracted depictions of the African diaspora in France.  Hayden met with fellow American artists in Paris such as, Hale Woodruff, Alain Locke, and Henry Ossawa Tanner before deciding to return to New York in 1932 and work for government art programs included in President Roosevelt’s New Deal Arts Program. Upon Hayden’s return to the states, his subject matter began to depict imagery of rural areas in southern states and urban areas within the northern states, as evident in Home Sweet Home and The Subway.

Title: Home Sweet Home 
Artist: Palmer Hayden (1890 – 1973)
Date: 1930
Medium: watercolor
Dimensions: Image size: 17 x 21 ½ inches; Framed: 23 7/8 x 28 ¼ inches
Accession Number: H77.34.1   

Title: The Subway 
Artist: Palmer Hayden (1890 – 1973)
Date: 1941
Medium; oil on canvas
Dimensions: 30 x 26 inches 
Accession Number: H77.34.2

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