Museum object · Visual Arts
SOWETO
1980
Soweto, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, Africa
Source catalog description
This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.
A poster print of an original print by Adger Cowans. The black and white work depicts an abstracted face rendered through a multitude of finely etched diagonal and horizontal black lines. The eyes are depicted by thin slits, the nose by a vertical line with two oval-shaped nostrils, and the mouth an "o" shape. Along the bottom edge of the image, below the figure's chin, black letters against white background spell out [ SO WE TO]. The poster has a white border with wider margins at top and bottom. Below the image, handwritten by the artist in gold colored ink is a circle letter [c] at lower left corner, the title ["SOWETO"] at center, and the artist's signature and date [Adger Cowens- / 80-] at lower right corner. There are no further marks or inscriptions, front or back.
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Sources & collection details
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗
Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-13
Catalog reference: 2014.101
