Date/Time
Date(s) - 06/03/2023 - 09/04/2023
9:00 am - 7:00 pm
Location
The Rockwell Museum
Categories
On view through September 4, 2023
William H. Johnson (1901 – 1970) painted his Fighters for Freedom series in the mid-1940s as a tribute to African American activists, scientists, teachers, and performers as well as international heads of state working to bring peace to the world. He celebrated their accomplishments even as he acknowledged the realities of racism, violence, and oppression they faced and overcame.
The twenty-eight paintings in this exhibition honor the legacy of individuals doing just this. But it’s not just the individuals depicted in the paintings that can be seen as the Hero. We owe a great deal to the artist William H. Johnson, a hero in his own right, for drawing upon his creative genius and capturing the stories of these influential figures in his art; by in doing so, he played an important role in preserving and sharing the significant stories of these “Fighters for Freedom.”
