John Brown Going to His Hanging

Artist Horace Pippin (1888-1946)
Currently on view
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Title John Brown Going to His Hanging
Date 1942
Medium Oil on canvas
Dimensions 24 1/8 x 30 1/4 in. (61.3 x 76.8 cm.)
Credits John Lambert Fund
Accession Number 1943.11
Additional Information Self-taught artist Horace Pippin was a native of West Chester, Pennsylvanian who often depicted historical subjects such as this homage to the fiery abolitionist John Brown.  A white man who became a martyr for the antislavery cause, Brown often appears in Pippin’s work as a quietly heroic figure.  In this interpretation of Brown’s last moments, a crowd has gathered to watch Brown’s execution.  Pippin included a black woman at lower right who, scowling, refuses to celebrate in Brown’s death.  According to family legend, Pippin’s grandmother was present at the hanging.  By including her—the only black figure in any of the artist’s history paintings—Pippin emphasized his personal connection to Brown’s legacy of black liberation.

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