The Dancing Lesson

Thomas Eakins

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The painting depicts a scene with three Black men. A man sits on a chair on the left side of the image playing a banjo. He wears a white shirt, dark pants, and dark shoes. To his right, another man stands wearing a burnt orange jacket over a black vest and pants, and a white collared shirt. He looks down at the young boy on the right side of the image. The boy has on a blue long-sleeved shirt, white shorts, and no shoes. He appears to be dancing. In the background, there is a gray wall with a circular object in the upper-left corner, and a bench on the right side. Two green chairs are present, one with the man playing the banjo and the other empty. The floor appears to be made of wood or concrete.