Boop-Oop-a-Doop: Restoring Esther Jones

Medium

Acrylic with gold leaf & Glitter on Canvas

Dimensions

19.89"H × 15.75"W

Year

2026

Before the world's most famous flapper cartoon, there was a child on a Harlem stage. Esther Jones, "Baby Esther", was a black child performer of the 1920s whose scat singing carried a sound born in Harlem and on Black Broadway. From "Shuffle Along" through Florence Mills and including the playful "boop-oop-a-doop" that would soon define one of animation's most iconic characters. She was one of several inspirations behind the figure, but she is the one history chose to forget. This painting reimagines that familiar face as a weeping Byzantine icon: haloed in gold, framed in Art Deco leaf, her skin restored to brown. The dimensional white drips are justice: The whitewashing of a legacy, running down the surface of the image itself. Her hand rises to her lips in surprise, as if witnessing her own reappearance. A devotional image for a performer whose story fell through the cracks. Original artwork, acrylic and gold leaf on canvas, with hand-applied dimensional texture. One-of-a-kind.