Love Letter, 1971
Object Details
- Artist
- Charles W. White, 2 Apr 1918 - 3 Oct 1979
- Sitter
- Angela Davis, born 26 Jan 1944
- Exhibition Label
- Now a retired professor Angela Davis (born 1944) was one of the most visible radical figures during the 1960s. A student of philosophy, Davis was drawn into the civil rights movement through the Black Panther Party. In 1972, she was found not guilty of murder and kidnapping in the aftermath of an armed attempt to free three inmates at Soledad Prison who were themselves facing murder charges.
- This lithograph by Charles White is equal parts artistic object and historical document. White was renowned for his social realist style emphasizing the beauty and struggles of African Americans. His depiction of Davis, rendered in his characteristic monochromatic palette and cubist form, was fueled by his admiration for the activist. In 1971, the National United Committee to Free Angela Davis and All Political Prisoners circulated a pamphlet with this image of Davis on the cover as part of a letter-writing campaign to California governor Ronald Reagan demanding Davis’s release from prison.
- Angela Davis (nacida en 1944), ahora profesora retirada, fue una de las figuras más visibles y radicales en la década de 1960. Siendo aún estudiante de filosofía, se insertó en el movimiento pro derechos civiles a través del Partido Pantera Negra. En 1972 fue declarada “no culpable” de asesinato y secuestro a raíz de un intento armado de liberar a tres reclusos de la prisión Soledad que enfrentaban cargos por asesinato.
- Esta litografía de Charles White no es solo un objeto artístico, sino un documento histórico. White era famoso por su estilo social-realista, del cual se valía para enfatizar la belleza y las luchas de los afroamericanos. Su retrato de Davis, ejecutado en su típica paleta monocroma y formas cubistas, es producto de su admiración por la activista. En 1971, el Comité Nacional Unido para Liberar a Angela Davis y Todos los Prisioneros Políticos distribuyó un panfleto con esta imagen en la portada como parte de una campaña de cartas al gobernador de California, Ronald Reagan, exigiendo la excarcelación de Davis.
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
- 1971
- Object number
- NPG.2015.96
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Copyright
- © 1971, The Charles White Archives
- Type
- Medium
- Color lithograph on paper
- Dimensions
- Image (irregular edge): 76.4 × 57.4 cm (30 1/16 × 22 5/8")
- Frame: 86 × 65.7 cm (33 7/8 × 25 7/8")
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- Location
- Currently not on view
- National Portrait Gallery
- Topic
- Nature & Environment\Plant\Flower
- Abstract
- Angela Davis: Female
- Angela Davis: Arts and Culture\Education and Scholarship\Educator\Professor\University
- Angela Davis: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Activist
- Portrait
- Record ID
- npg_NPG.2015.96
- Metadata Usage (text)
- Usage conditions apply
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm490d1ea38-e478-434f-ba56-f7bb95bbbe8b
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