Jo Smail
Howling Mongrel
2004
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Jo Smail
Howling Mongrel
2004
Physical Qualities
Oil and enamel on canvas, 70 x 60 in. (177.8 x 152.4 cm.)
Portfolio/Series
From the series "Learning to Speak Again"
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. Julien Davis, Baltimore
Object Number
2016.11
South African–born artist Jo Smail layers soft washes of pink and white beneath swirling black forms in Howling Mongrel. She made the painting after a studio fire and while recovering from a stroke, suggesting resilience in the aftermath of trauma. Smail’s time at MICA reflects its role as a site of global artistic exchange grounded in material sensitivity and psychological inquiry.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 2016
Antoinette Roberts and Cecilia Wichmann, with Oscar Flores Montero, and Dylan Kaleikaumaka Hill, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "BMA Celebrates MICA 200," May 16, 2026 to Janurary 3, 2027.
On View: Contemporary Wing Second Floor, Gallery 01
