On View
Visual Arts Gallery
Exhibition
Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.
Created by
Driskell, David C., American, 1931 - 2020
Subject of
Till, Emmett, American, 1941 - 1955
Date
1956
Medium
mixed media on canvas
Dimensions
H x W (unframed): 46 × 36 in. (116.8 × 91.4 cm)
Caption
“If the men who killed Emmett Till had known his body would free a people, they would have let him live.” —Jesse L. Jackson Sr.
In 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till traveled from Chicago, Illinois, to visit family in Money, Mississippi. Till was murdered by two white men who had accused him of flirting with a white woman. His death shocked the nation and spurred the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement.
David Driskell was deeply affected by Till’s death and felt compelled to create a memorial to the young teenager. Conceived as a visual allegory, Driskell’s modern-day pietà makes connections between Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection and Till’s murder and funeral, invoking the religious foundations that undergirded many of the struggles for African American rights.
Description
An oil painting in which the artist presents the bruised and battered body of Emmett Till as a Christ-like figure with his arms outstretched in the form of a crucifixion. The hands and arms of a figure behind him are visible holding the body.
Classification
Visual Arts
Movement
Civil Rights Movement
Type
oil paintings
Topic
Art
Christianity
Civil rights
Religion
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2009.7
Restrictions & Rights
© The Estate of David C. Driskell
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd52bcfba14-383d-460a-bfd9-60a0123db546

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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