This 1932 work by Harlem Renaissance artist Malvin Gray Johnson depicts two West African masks — one Yoruba, the other Bwa. The work is a response to several occurrences in the art scene at that time. First, was a challenge issued by Johnson's friend and mentor, Alain Locke, author of the 1925 New Negro Anthology, to several Black artists to find inspiration in African art. Second, it was a rebuff to the presentation of African art, which was growing in popularity at the time along with European modernist art, as the work of "savages," despite being a significant inspiration for Modernism itself. Negro Masks is one of sixty surviving works by the artist, who tragically passed away at the age of 38 in 1934. Celebrated in his time for his portraits, Malvin is remembered as a pioneering example of Symbolic Abstractionism and Cubist painting. Printed on 5.57 oz smooth matte fine art paper, this work is available framed and unframed, reproduced by archivists in the United Kingdom using museum quality paper and ink, resulting in a piece that is faithful to the original.