Leah Balsham and WPA/Federal Art Project, Chicago
Yum Yum (Mikado)
1937
Scroll
Physical Qualities
Crayon and brush and tusche lithograph with scraping, Sheet: 365 x 188 mm. (14 3/8 x 7 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
The United States General Services Administration, formerly Federal Works Agency, Works Progress Administration, on extended loan to the Baltimore Museum of Art.
Object Number
L.1943.9.914
Through its programs, the WPA supported the employment of underrepresented artists across all fields. Black actors and musicians had opportunities to perform in funded venues, though often in segregated productions. Gladys Boucree (c. 1900–1950) starred to great acclaim as Yum-Yum in the Federal Theatre Project’s 1938 swing-style production of W.S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and Arthur Sullivan’s (1842–1900) comic opera The Mikado, which had first premiered in 1885. Elizabeth Olds’ print W.P.A. Rhythm Band, also produced as a color screenprint, conveys the energy and dynamism of Black
musicians in a brass band with tuba players, trombonists, saxophone players, and a drummer.
Extended Loans IN
Art/Work: Women Printmakers of the WPA
Inscribed: RECTO: LL margin (pencil): 'Yum Yum (Mikado)'; LR margin (pencil): 'Leah Balsham - 38' and '2520'. VERSO: TL Corner (pencil): 'Balsham' and '#1696 - gr. 2'; C: BMA stamp.
