At daylight the miserable man was carried to an oak…” from the series Searching for California Hang Trees

Ken Gonzales-Day, "At daylight the miserable man was carried to an oak..." from the series Searching for California Hang Trees, 2007, lightjet print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2012.12.1, © 2007, Ken Gonzales-Day
Ken Gonzales-Day, "At daylight the miserable man was carried to an oak..." from the series Searching for California Hang Trees, 2007, lightjet print, 3545 in. (88.9114.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2012.12.1, © 2007, Ken Gonzales-Day

Artwork Details

Title
At daylight the miserable man was carried to an oak…” from the series Searching for California Hang Trees
Date
2007
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
3545 in. (88.9114.3 cm)
Copyright
© 2007, Ken Gonzales-Day
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums Description
lightjet print
Classifications
Highlights
Subjects
  • Landscape — tree
Object Number
2012.12.1

Artwork Description

Through meticulous research, Gonzales-Day documented approximately 350 lynching incidents that occurred in California between 1850 and 1935, most of which involved victims of Mexican descent. To create the series Searching for California Hang Trees, the artist visited many of these sites and captured the likeness of trees that may have borne witness to these events. Gonzales-Day’s landscapes unearth traces of this little-known history.

Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art, 2013


Description in Spanish

Mediante una investigación meticulosa, Gonzales-Day documentó aproximadamente 350 linchamientos ocurridos en California entre 18501935, cuyas víctimas eran, en su mayoría, de origen mexicano. Para crear la serie Searching for California Hang Trees, el artista visitó muchos de estos lugares y captó la imagen de árboles que podrían haber sido testigos de estos sucesos. Los paisajes de Gonzalez-Day revelan huellas de esta historia poco conocida.

Nuestra América: la presencia latina en el arte estadounidense, 2013

Works by this artist (5 items)

Kenneth M. Adams, Evening, ca. 1950-1960, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Arvin Gottlieb, 1991.205.2
Evening
Dateca. 1950-1960
oil on canvas
On view
Kenneth M. Adams, Deer Track (Pa-ee-na), after 1924, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Arvin Gottlieb, 1991.205.1
Deer Track (Pa-ee-na)
Dateafter 1924
oil on canvas
On view
Kenneth M. Adams, Taos Indian Woman, ca. 1920-1930, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Arvin Gottlieb, 1993.48.1
Taos Indian Woman
Dateca. 1920-1930
oil on canvas
On view
Harvest
Date1940
lithograph on paper
Not on view

Related Books

OurAmerica_500.jpg
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art explores how Latino artists shaped the artistic movements of their day and recalibrated key themes in American art and culture. This beautifully illustrated volume presents the rich and varied contributions of Latino artists in the United States since the mid-twentieth century, when the concept of a collective Latino identity began to emerge. Our America includes works by artists who participated in all the various artistic styles and movements, including abstract expressionism; activist, conceptual, and performance art; and classic American genres such as landscape, portraiture, and scenes of everyday life. 

Exhibitions

Media - 2011.12 - SAAM-2011.12_1 - 77591
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art
October 25, 2013March 2, 2014
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art presents the rich and varied contributions of Latino artists in the United States since the mid-twentieth century, when the concept of a collective Latino identity began to emerge.

More Artworks from the Collection

Unidentified, Pieced quilt (Flying Geese), ca. 1845-1850, calicoes and chintz, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Patricia S. Smith, 1998.149.33
Pieced quilt (Flying Geese)
Artist
Unidentified
Dateca. 1845-1850
calicoes and chintz
Not on view
Louise Todd Cope, Flax II, ca. 1970s, flax and linen, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Helen Williams Drutt English and H. Peter Stern in honor of the 35th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery, 2007.47.8
Flax II
Dateca. 1970s
flax and linen
Not on view
Katherine Lewis, Rope Coil, 2011, willow, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Martha G. Ware and Steven R. Cole, 2011.47.39
Rope Coil
Date2011
willow
Not on view
Unidentified, Untitled, ca. 1860, cotton, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Patricia S. Smith, 2016.57.10
Untitled
Artist
Unidentified
Dateca. 1860
cotton
Not on view