The Soprano at the Mourning Easter Wake of 1968

Daniel Pressley, The Soprano at the Mourning Easter Wake of 1968, 1968, varnished walnut relief, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.78
Copied Daniel Pressley, The Soprano at the Mourning Easter Wake of 1968, 1968, varnished walnut relief, 35 1⁄4 x 18 x 1 in. (89.5 x 45.7 x 2.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.78

Artwork Details

Title
The Soprano at the Mourning Easter Wake of 1968
Artist
Date
1968
Location
Dimensions
35 1⁄4 x 18 x 1 in. (89.5 x 45.7 x 2.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums
Mediums Description
varnished walnut relief
Classifications
Subjects
  • Performing arts — music — voice
  • Ceremony — holiday — Easter
  • Figure female — waist length
  • Ceremony — funeral
  • History — United States — Civil Rights Movement
  • African American
Object Number
1997.124.78
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1997.124.78

Artwork Description

Daniel Pressley learned the art of wood carving when he was a boy, from his grandfather who was a former slave. In South Carolina during the first half of the twentieth century, African-American families lived under the pall of racism. Pressley moved to New York City in 1953, like many African Americans of the era, in search of a better life. He became deft at compressing profound moments of human emotion into tight, controlled carvings. This carving shows a singer at the wake for Martin Luther King Jr., just after he was assassinated in 1968. Her clasped hands and anguished expression evoke the widespread passion and grief over the death of a hero to black Americans.
Luce Center Label

Daniel Pressley believed fervently in the civil rights movement, which he experienced in New York in the 1950s and 60s. This carving shows a singer at the wake for Martin Luther King Jr. after his assassination in 1968. The figure’s clasped hands and anguished expression evoke the passion and grief that many people felt over the tragic death of a hero to black Americans.