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JOHN BIGGERS
American, 1924 – 2001
Birmingham…Children of the Morning, 1964
Linoleum cut on paper, 10/12
© John T. Biggers Estate / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY, Estate Represented by Michael Rosenfeld Gallery
Acquired with funds from the Board of Visitors Muscarelle Museum of Art Endowment
2019.004
This linoleum print by John Biggers depicts the four little girls (Cynthia Wesley, Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, and Carole Robinson) who were victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing on the morning of September 15, 1963. This tragic event drew international attention to the violent struggle for civil rights, galvanizing support for the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Biggers positions the figures between a cemetery in the distance and a flight of doves, evoking Martin Luther King’s eulogy for the girls: “The innocent blood of these little girls may well serve as the redemptive force that will bring new light to this dark city,” and in parting saying: “And may the flight of angels take thee to thy eternal rest. God bless you.”
Savannah Singleton ‘21
Click on the image of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to hear his 'Eulogy for the Martyred Children' on September 18, 1963. Click here for a text version instead.
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William & Mary Libraries, Special Collections Research Center
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Call Number: Rare Book - Vinyard (PS3551.N464 O97 1994)
Author: Angelou, Maya.
Artist: Biggers, John Thomas, 1924-2001.
Subjects: Grandmothers -- Poetry
African American artists -- United States -- 20th century -- Spectrum
Description: "This edition ... has been printed on paper made by hand for this book at HMP Paper-Mill. Four hundred copies were printed by Daniel Keleher at Wild Carrot Letterpress. The design is by Dan Carr. The Spectrum types were hand set by Julia Ferrari & Dan Carr at Golgonooza Letter Foundry. The lithographs were printed at Trestle Editions." -- Colophon.
Publisher: New York: The Limited Editions Club, 1994
Format: [17] pages, [5] leaves of plates : 5 illustrations ; 56 cm.
Language: English
Call Number: Rare Book - Vinyard (N7433.4.P48 U53 2014)
Artist: Peterson, Jessica, 1976- .
Subjects: School integration -- Massive resistance movement -- Virginia -- History
African Americans -- Civil rights -- Virginia -- History
African Americans -- Education -- Law and legislation -- Virginia
Racism in art
Education in art
Civil rights in art
Description: "Unbound is a limited edition artists' book which honors the veterans of Prince Edward County's 1959 school lock out ... The book was conceived and designed by artist Jessica Peterson and recounts the closing of the public schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia, from 1959 to 1964. Unbound tells this story of these events with timelines, archival evidence, and collected narratives from the veterans of the closings. Gold stars flow through each page, one star for each person whose life was permanently altered by the school closings." — Publisher's statement
Publisher: Northport, Alabama: Paper Souvenir, 2014
Format: 1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 21 cm.
Language: English
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