Right of Assembly

Arthur S. Siegel, artist

1913–1978

Right of Assembly, 1939

Where object was made: Detroit, Michigan, United States

Material/technique: gelatin silver print

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 42 x 34.6 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 16 9/16 x 13 5/8 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 25 x 20 in

Credit line: Museum purchase: Peter T. Bohan Art Acquisition Fund

Accession number: 1984.0151

Not on display

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Label texts

Archive Label:
Siegel shows a 1938 strike at a Chrysler Motors Company manufacturing plant in Detroit, Michigan. In the years just before the Second World War, this photograph was reproduced widely, extolling the superiority of American democracy over the collectivist movements of fascism and communism. In this context, the photograph was used to document the freedom of public assembly guaranteed in the United States Bill of Rights. The photograph, however, was at odds with the reality that American industry had tried throughout the 1930s to break the power of labor unions.