Martin Luther King, Jr.

John Woodrow Wilson, artist

1922–2015

Center Street Studio, publisher

founded 1984

Martin Luther King, Jr., 2002

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: etching; aquatint; spit biting; burnishing; chine collé; wove paper

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 742 x 687 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 904 x 756 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 29 3/16 x 27 1/16 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 35 9/16 x 29 3/4 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 45 x 39 in

Credit line: Museum purchase: Lucy Shaw Schultz Fund

Accession number: 2002.0073

Not on display

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Paying Homage: Celebrating the Diversity of Men in Quilts

This powerful portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is an etching made after the artist’s original sketch for the bronze bust of Dr. King that stands three feet tall in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. While the memorial sculpture in the Capitol is Wilson’s best known work, he also created paintings, prints, and murals, often addressing pressing political issues. Wilson was particularly inspired by Dr. King, although they never met. In this portrait Wilson conveys King’s physical presence as both vulnerable and strong. He symbolizes King’s assassination with black lines that intersect at the throat, as if silencing King’s voice as a civil rights activist.