Harmonizing was painted by Horace Pippin in 1944. In the center of the painting, four African Americans stand unified together in front of a fence on a dirt side walk that has a lamppost. The men are singing together as if it is an everyday thing. There is a gray box sitting right in front of them. The fence behind them stands tall and takes up a lot of the background of the painting. On the right side, there is a house that looks like a farmhouse. There also is a white brick building behind the fence that resembles a church. By looking at the African American men who are centered in the painting, we see unity, which is important because this was painted at a time where segregation was very prevalent, therefore many people had to come together to get through every day. 

Pippin’s painting has a variety of bold colors. The colors of the subjects, mainly the yellow, attracts us to them right away. The yellow is a warm color, bringing our gaze to it. Three of the men are dressed fairly nice while the man on the right is in overalls. The man all the way to the left is wearing a simple black shirt. I think this symbolizes power and wealth among the group because he looks like the leader of the group as they harmonize on the streets. Two of the men are wearing yellow shirts so we are attracted to them. The warmth of the yellow and the brightness of it symbolizes friendship and the warm, safe feeling one gets when surrounded with friends. Friends also brings happiness and optimism when times are low. These men are unified through friendship and their singing. The man all the way to right has dark blue overalls on. I think this symbolizes youth in this subject. He is also shorter than the rest of the group and this his height could be trying to show his youth. He is also the one who is wearing a different style of clothing than the rest. There is a possibility he is from the house on the right side of the painting. He could have heard the harmonizing of the group on the street and walked over to hear. The rest of the group may have accepted this young boy as one of their own and had him join in with their singing. This exemplifies friendship and unity again because these African American men, along with many others in this time, would join together through hardships such as segregation. Next, the fence, which takes up a good amount of the painting, is a dull light brown. This to me symbolizes that segregation was and is still unclear to many people. Why and how did segregation evolve? Why weren’t African Americans the higher race? Segregation is an unclear and complicated topic that many people despised. Lastly, I think the white building in the top left corner is very symbolic because a lot of the painting is pretty dark but the white lightens things and attracts your eyes. This white building looks like a church. Many African Americans turned to religion and spiritual guidance during this time period. Again, this shows unity among those who attended church and prayed for common issues. 

Harmonizing has several detailed and patterned lines. The majority of the lines on the fence are vertical, meaning they are perpendicular to the earth. This causes our eyes to wonder up and down and makes us want to look up to the sky. Because of this, when I look at the fence, my eyes are brought up to notice the Church in the background. The guy in the blue striped shirt and several of the subject’s pants also have lines that are vertically arranged. This goes well with the fence behind them because it is visually appealing to have the vertical line on top of each other. Majority of the left side of the painting has vertical lines that catch your gaze first, but then, as you move to the right side of the painting, the lines contrast and now shift horizontally. I think the horizontal lines on the house and neighboring homes signify that they are there for good because the lines are parallel with the ground. The lines also bring our eyes from left to right which makes us want to see what is to the left and right of the scene. How long does the fence continue on or are there more houses down the street? There are also times when the vertical and horizontal lines come together, such as the windows on the house. When these lines clash, the structure is shown and it makes the house look secure and neat. The farm in front of the house is running diagonally across the yard. This guides my eyes up to the house and symbolizes the movement farmers have to do out on the fields when working long and tiring days. Lastly, with all the different heights of the mean, the top of their heads create a downward curve. This curve is like a half circle going surrounding the men. This, again, symbolizes the unity of the men just how a circle can unify something it compasses around. 

Pippin’s piece of work is very detailed and sharp. The colors of the subjects, along with the rest of the painting, are bold but warming. These men are harmonizing together on what could have been a horrible day. The lines of this painting control the movement of your eyes and where you look. The detailed lines on the fence that symbolizes segregation definitely accentuate it even more, just how segregation was accentuated when African Americans, ironically, became more unified. Unification was done by accepting others for friendship, resulting in optimism for many people. Optimism was also reached through religion and music. The subjects of this painting are unified through their singing and friendship to overcome the racial tension of this time period. 
