Artist John Wilson (American, 1922–2015)
Title Martin Luther King Jr.
Date 2002
Medium Etching and aquatint on paper with chine collé
Dimensions Image: 30 1/2 × 27 3/4 in. (77.5 × 70.5 cm)
Sheet: 35 3/4 × 29 3/4 in. (90.8 × 75.6 cm)
Framed: 41 1/8 × 35 1/8 × 1 1/2 in. (104.5 × 89.2 × 3.8 cm)
Credit Line Purchased in honor of former Chancellor Sharon Brehm, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number 2005.16
About this Work
A noted sculptor, painter, and printmaker, John Wilson is best known for his powerful portraits of African American men. While most of the artist’s earlier images immortalized the anonymous working-class male, this work depicts Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The print relates to one of Wilson’s most important sculpture commissions: a memorial statue of Dr. King for the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington DC.
Despite its formality and solemnity, the sculpture strove to capture the inner spirit of its subject. Wilson wanted people to recognize Dr. King’s visage, but he also wanted them to sense his intangible energy and strength, as well as his personal struggles. As Wilson noted, “You couldn’t possibly grow up a black person without understanding the conflicts and anxieties in King. A calm and serene presence—but conflicts, worries inside.” This sense of weariness and vulnerability—suggested by the figure’s slightly down-turned eyes, darkened face, and sloping shoulders—comes through even more strongly in the print, which was based on studies for the sculpture but produced almost twenty years later.
