Death in America

Media: TexasSouthern/HCAC.TSU.0113/DSC_5537.jpg; TexasSouthern/HCAC.TSU.0113/DSC_5537-2.jpg

Original Title: title unknown
Devised Title: Death in America
Date: 1972
Creator: Maurice Ellison See all items with this value
Description: Ellison’s painting reflects the brutality and grief experienced by the Black community. In the foreground, a skull is pierced by the American flag. On the right side, a headstone honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. is surrounded by nude mourners. In the background, a shadowy dove spreads its wings, perhaps representing MLK’s dream of peace being obscured by white supremacist violence.
Primary Subject: 1900-1999 See all items with this value; Art See all items with this value; HBCU student work See all items with this value; Civil Rights Movement See all items with this value
Additional Subject: Black art; Death; Discrimination; Memory; Racial violence
Type: Painting
Medium: oil on canvas
Measurements: 41 1/8 in x 34 7/8 in
Format: JPEG
HBCU Identifier: pc204
HCAC Identifier: HCAC.TSU.0113
Rights: All rights held by the University Museum at Texas Southern. For permission to publish, distribute, or use this image for any other purpose, please contact University Museum, Texas Southern University umuseum@gmail.com Attn: Museum Director. Materials not created by Texas Southern University may still be under copyright. Additional materials may be presented for educational and research purposes in accordance with fair use under United States copyright law.
Contributing Institution: Texas Southern University
Collection: Permanent Collection See all items with this value

Item sets: Art; Texas Southern University Collections; University Museum at Texas Southern Permanent Collection