Created by
Campbell, Patrick, American
Date
2014
Medium
watercolor on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 22 1/2 × 15 1/4 in. (57.2 × 38.7 cm)
Caption
Patrick Campbell’s painting, with its bold stripes featuring bodies hanging from nooses, and cracked stars with people falling, pleading, or wielding weapons in between, went viral in December 2014. Earlier that month, a New York grand jury ruled “no reasonable cause” to indict the officer whose chokehold on Eric Garner led to Garner’s death. This decision came on the heels of a grand jury decision in November not to charge the officer who shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. In response, Campbell used art to illustrate his disbelief. When he posted the image on social media, others who shared his disappointment and anger spread the image across the internet. By the time Freddie Gray protests ignited in Baltimore in April 2015, Campbell’s watercolor was a symbol of a movement.
Description
A watercolor painting of the American flag, in which bodies are depicted hanging within the red stripes.
Classification
Visual Arts
Movement
Black Lives Matter
Type
watercolors
Topic
Art
Communities
Lynching
Race discrimination
Race relations
Resistance
U.S. History, 2001-
Violence
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2015.99
Restrictions & Rights
© Patrick Campbell Art and Illustration
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd57a86861d-ad9a-42e5-968e-833a28f9131c

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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