Basil Hawkins
American, 1903 - 1982Hamilton Street Bridge, 1935-1943
Not on view
Lithograph on paper
Dimensions11 1/8 × 14 1/8 in. (28.3 × 35.9 cm)
Image: 6 1/2 × 9 in. (16.5 × 22.9 cm)
Gift of Madeline Anthony, 2000.125
Constructed in 1920, the Hamilton Street bridge and dam provided Flint residents with a quick walkway across the Flint River before it was blocked off and then demolished in 2018. Here, artist Basil Hawkins includes loosely drawn foliage and small figures around the architectural subjects of his image. Artists often include natural elements in their depictions of architecture to give a stronger sense of place, implying the season, passage of time, and movement within the scene.
Born in Vincennes, Indiana, Hawkins moved to Michigan in 1930 and received a scholarship to study art at the FIA, where he later became an instructor. Hawkins was an artist for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930s and painted murals for the Flint Public Library, Hurley Hospital, and Flint public schools.
