Bobby Seale and Two Others with Drums and Fife
ArtistDrawn by
Edmund S. Valtman
(American, 1914 - 2005)
Dateprobably 1970-1971
MediumDrawing; black ink on paper
DimensionsSheet (height x width): 14 3/8 x 11 1/4in. (36.5 x 28.6cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineGift of Edmund S. Valtman
Object number1995.71.453
DescriptionDrawing of Black Panther Bobby Seale (center, wearing glasses), another man who is possibly Warren Kimbro (right), and an unidentified man on the left. All three are dressed in breeches, hose and jackets consistent with those worn in the American Revolution. The two men on the left and playing drums worn around their necks, and the man on the right is playing the fife.
NotesSubject Note: The composition is based on the painting "The Spirit of '76" by Archibald Willard, which was exhibited in the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876 and hangs in the town hall in Marblehead, Massachusetts.In 1970, Bobby Seale, the man depicted in the center of this drawing, was on trial in New Haven, Connecticut, for charges related to the murder of Alex Rackley. In 1971, with the jury deadlocked on Seale's acquittal, the judge ended up dismissing the charges because he believed that it was impossible to find an unbiased jury without "superhuman efforts."
Status
On view
