Loading...

The Colour of Money: Paintings that Depict Slavery on Banknotes

2016-03-21 Mon

“The Colour of Money” is the title given to the outstanding work of South Carolina graphic artist John W. Jones. When he was enlarging a piece of obsolete paper currency for a client he realized that the image depicted a slave picking cotton.

This made him curious and he went out to collect 150 more notes like these. Using his artistic ability, he took their engraved vignettes and transformed them into a series of acrylic on canvas full colour paintings.

John has made 123 paintings which have been featured on 400 magazines and newspapers. Some paintings are part of the travelling exhibition seen in Plattsburgh and in dozens of other places across the country.

John hopes that The Colour of Money will remove the shame African Americans feel and remove the guilt whites feel when slavery is discussed.