<I>Euretta F. Adair</I>
date: label: Date
content: 2018
name: label: Created by
content: Lava Thomas, American, born 1958
label: Subject of
content: Euretta F. Adair, American, 1905 - 1990
notes: label: Caption
content: Euretta F. Adair was one of over 80 African American activists who were arrested for planning and participating in the Montgomery Bus Boycott between 1955 and 1956. Adair served on the executive board of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), founded in 1955 by Black ministers and community leaders four days after the arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to vacate her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery city bus. The organization’s mission was to oversee the boycott, improve race relations, and uplift the general tenor of the community.
label: Caption
content: Lava Thomas’s drawing of Adair is one of 12 portraits in her series, Mugshot Portraits: Women of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Drawn from actual mugshots of female activists, these portraits highlight the commitment and bravery of the unsung women of the movement, whose sacrifices ensured today’s freedoms.
label: Description
content: A Conté crayon and graphite drawn portrait of a woman, Euretta F. Adair, based on the mug shot taken after her arrest on February 21, 1956 for her role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In the portrait, Adair appears from the waist up, holding a number card reading "7070" up in front of her at chest height. She wears a dark V-neck blouse under a grey cardigan jacket with striped edging at the hem and cuffs. She also has round earrings, cat's eye style glasses, a wedding ring, and a short-brimmed hat with a ribbon or ornament on the left side rests on the back of her head. She gazes directly at the viewer.
place: label: Place depicted
content: Mongtomery, Montgomery County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Activism
label: Topic
content: Civil Rights
label: Topic
content: Resistance
label: Topic
content: Segregation
label: Topic
content: U.S. History, 1953-1961
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Portfolio/Series
content: Mugshot Portraits: Women of the Montgomery Bus Boycott
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
label: Movement
content: Civil Rights Movement
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Cheryl and Charles Ward
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2021.55
objectType: label: Type
content: drawings
label: Type
content: portraits
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Lava Thomas
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Conté crayon and graphite on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (Paper): 47 × 33 1/4 in. (119.4 × 84.5 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (Frame): 48 1/4 × 34 1/2 × 2 in. (122.6 × 87.6 × 5.1 cm)