The Janitor Who Paints by Palmer Haydan, is a interesting depiction of the working class black artist of the Harlem Renaissance. The subject of the painting is a janitor, identified by the tools of his trade hung behind him, painting his wife and child. The janitor paints his family in their modest home, where the cluttered interior, paired with the warm light, coming from the back room, produces a cozy, intimate atmosphere. This painting creates a representative of the new negro, a man who values and is capable of creating art, despite his working class background. 

The janitor's wife sits frontal, with her baby seated in her lap. This is a classic composition was often used by great masters of painting like Titian, Leonardo and Rafael when depicting the virgin marry and christ. by placing the Janitor's subjects like this Palmer creates a parallel between his blue collar painter, and recognized forefathers of modern-day painting, and by doing so he makes a claim for harlem artists, like our janitor, as valid members of the art world.