Young Girl’s Head

George Biddle

1937

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Four men of varying heights wearing dark suits, white shirts, dark ties, and fezes embellished with the insignia of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine—commonly known as the Shriners—stand side by side, singing in four-part harmony as the title implies. Their shadows are cast against a backdrop depicting three pyramids and two camels, which speaks to the fraternal order’s taste for Middle Eastern trappings. Grant Wood reportedly sang in a Shrine quartet himself.
Joc-O-Sot, George Catlin, lithograph
Black and white press print of an older African-American man with his head in his hand and his eyes closed. Cropped very close.
Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii, Randolph Rogers, marble