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Study for 'The Breakdown' - Saxophone Player, by John Bulloch Souter
Study for 'The Breakdown' - Saxophone Player
Study for 'The Breakdown' - Saxophone Player, by John Bulloch Souter
Study for 'The Breakdown' - Saxophone Player, by John Bulloch Souter

Study for 'The Breakdown' - Saxophone Player

Artist (Aberdeen, Scotland, 1890 - 1972)
Date1926
Mediumcharcoal and pastel on grey paper
ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings
DimensionsSight Size: 55.8 × 37.6cm
Frame Size: 77 × 58 × 2.1cm
AcquisitionPurchased in 2016 with assistance from the National Fund for Acquisitions.
Copyright© Elcy Broadhead (2007)
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDAG017851
Historic Title
  • Jazz Musician
About MeThis is one of three surviving original sketches that relate to 'The Breakdown', a controversial painting of 1926.

At the time, Souter stated that his intention in this age of jazz had been simply to illustrate the “prevailing influence of the negro on the arts … the whole of civilization is feeling the negro breeze…” . However, subsequently, he destroyed the painting.







More About Me
Souter’s The Breakdown caused controversy with his depiction of an African American man playing the saxophone to a naked woman in a trance-like dance.
Exhibitions