<I>Behold Thy Son</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1956
name: label: Created by
content: David C. Driskell, American, 1931 - 2020
label: Subject of
content: Emmett Till, American, 1941 - 1955
notes: label: Caption
content: “If the men who killed Emmett Till had known his body would free a people, they would have let him live.” —Jesse L. Jackson Sr.
label: Caption
content: In 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till traveled from Chicago, Illinois, to visit family in Money, Mississippi. Till was murdered by two white men who had accused him of flirting with a white woman. His death shocked the nation and spurred the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement.
label: Caption
content: David Driskell was deeply affected by Till’s death and felt compelled to create a memorial to the young teenager. Conceived as a visual allegory, Driskell’s modern-day pietà makes connections between Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection and Till’s murder and funeral, invoking the religious foundations that undergirded many of the struggles for African American rights.
label: Description
content: An oil painting in which the artist presents the bruised and battered body of Emmett Till as a Christ-like figure with his arms outstretched in the form of a crucifixion. The hands and arms of a figure behind him are visible holding the body.
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Christianity
label: Topic
content: Civil Rights
label: Topic
content: Religion
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
label: Movement
content: Civil Rights Movement
label: Exhibition
content: Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.
label: On View
content: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Culture/Fourth Floor, 4 052
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2009.7
objectType: label: Type
content: oil paintings
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © The Estate of David C. Driskell
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: mixed media on canvas
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (unframed): 46 × 36 in. (116.8 × 91.4 cm)