<I>Untitled (Lynching of a Woman)</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1963
name: label: Created by
content: Mildred Jean Thompson, American, 1936 - 2003
label: Subject of
content: Unidentified Woman or Women
label: Subject of
content: Unidentified Man or Men
notes: label: Caption
content: In her 1892 publication, Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All of Its Phases, civil rights activist Ida B. Wells described the insidious nature of sexual and mob violence perpetrated against Black women throughout the South. Wells recounted in disturbing detail the horrific instances where Black women were stripped naked, raped by one or multiple white men, hanged, and mutilated. Between 1880 and 1930, over 130 African American women were murdered by lynch mobs; countless others were sexually assaulted without legal recourse. Although Wells’s organization, and many other African American women and women’s groups, fought to obtain justice, the sheer number of Black women who were victimized and killed through mob violence was too often overlooked.
label: Caption
content: With this powerful work, Mildred Thompson directly depicts this history in all its horror.
label: Description
content: A pen and ink drawing depicting a scene of abstracted male figures lynching a nude female figure. The female figure is depicted in the center, hanging by the neck from a noose, her hands behind her back in a way that suggests they are bound. Surrounding her is a mob of male figures, most of them in long robes with pointed hoods that obscure their faces others are nude except for Western-style hats with center badges of the type worn by sheriffs or other law enforcement. Their facial features are abstracted, with bared teeth and leering expressions. All of the male figures wear Western-style heeled boots and are turned towards the lynched woman. One hooded and robed figure raises a Christian cross over their heads. At the lower left corner is the artist's signature [Mildred Thompson Nov 1963 New York]. There are no marks or inscriptions on the verso.
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: American South
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Gender
label: Topic
content: Hate crimes
label: Topic
content: Lynching
label: Topic
content: Men
label: Topic
content: Race discrimination
label: Topic
content: Race relations
label: Topic
content: Violence
label: Topic
content: White supremacy movements
label: Topic
content: Women
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
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: 2020.57.2
objectType: label: Type
content: drawings
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Mildred Thompson Estate
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on wove paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 18 × 24 in. (45.7 × 61 cm)