Andy Warhol
1964
Birmingham Race Riots

Screenprint, on cream wove paper
50.8x61 cm (20 x 24 ins) (sheet)
 
Swann Galleries - New York
Sale 2479, Contemporary Art, 22 May 2018, Lot: 175
 
Edition of 500. Printed by Ives-Sillman, Inc., New Haven. Published by the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford. From Ten Works by Ten Painters.
 
Smithsonian American Art Museum (Object Number: 1965.37.2E), Exhibition Label (Accessed by AG, 16 May 2018)
In May 1963, photographers swarmed to catch a glimpse of civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama. Their cameras documented harrowing scenes such as this one, in which a man is trapped between police dogs attacking him from two directions. Andy Warhol used a photograph from Time magazine as the source of Untitled (Birmingham, Alabama). He increased the contrast of light and dark to eliminate details and emphasize the moment's tension. The resulting print casts a light on the gulf between nonviolent protestors and local authorities at the time.
 
Pop Art Prints, 2014
 
LL/82862