Untitled (Gambling House Chinatown)

Maker Henry Sugimoto (American, 1900 - 1990)

Date1965-1985

Mediumoil, canvas

DimensionsL: 39.5 in, W: 31.75 in, D: .75 in

ClassificationsFine Arts

Credit LineGift of Madeleine Sugimoto and Naomi Tagawa, Japanese American National Museum

Object number92.97.117

DescriptionStretched and unframed;Men gambling in Chinatown. Four men sit and smoke at a large orange/tan rectangular table with circular objects in front of them while a Chinese man separates two tiles from a pile using a stick. One man stands at the top corner of the table smoking and watching the game. A mustached Chinese man faces the viewer in the lower right corner. In the background left a Chinese man in black leans forward on a bench smoking a pipe under a window. Seated at a small table, right, a Chinese man watches another man in shirtsleeves sign some papers. Another man stands behind the gambler smoking. At the back a Chinese man opens a green door with peephole into the red room with wooden floors. A man enters the room from the street where signs with Chinese characters are visible. A yellow strip with three Chinese characters, "Bakapyo", hangs next to a large flesh colored sign that reads, "Chungking" over Chinese characters. All the Chinese men wear black Mao jackets and pants and have queues. The gamblers are in blue, tan or brown.