Celebration

This large mural is the first of many public commissions completed by Charles Searles.  When Celebration was unveiled to the public on June 6, 1977, Searles described the genesis of the painting:

“The first idea of Celebration came to me in 1970, while I was participating in a street festival in North Philadelphia.  The scene was joyous.  Dancers and drummers performed on a portable stage while children played and adults stood around watching.  The afternoon was warm and sunny, and the small, crowded street was barricaded at both ends.  As I stood there watching, I had a wonderful thought.  Why not do a painting of this festival event?  I began taking photographs for future reference. 

“In 1972, I went to Africa [Morocco, Nigeria and Ghana], where my concepts grew.  I did many paintings of African themes, especially street trading, and the festival idea stayed with me throughout this development.  When I was commissioned [in 1975] by the General Services Administration to make a mural for the federal complex in Philadelphia, I took the opportunity to recreate the original Philadelphia festival for the city of its conception.  Then, because of the joyous nature of the original event, I thought, why not call the work Celebration?” [1]

Note:

1. Charles Searles, as quoted in Donald W. Thalacker, The Place of Art in the World of Architecture (New York and London: Chelsea House Publishers, 1980), 126.