Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 6

Philip Evergood
Philip Evergood, Little Rock, Oil on Canvas, 1955 - "Civil Rights."

1955

About the Item

"Civil Rights." Evergood's early commentary on racial issues in the 1950s depicts four black men gagged, roped and hanging from a tree. In the background, imprisoned blacks look on through a barbed-wire fence. Whites watch in horror but do nothing to help. Meanwhile, a two-legged and three-headed serpent wraps himself around the tree that physically and symbolically separates the races. This is an important work in the history of American art. It may be one of the very earliest examples of a major American painter doing a major work that challenges racial segregation and injustice at a time when no one else would. The title of the work is inspired by a Historic Supreme Court decision on racial segregation. The Little Rock Nine was a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas. They then attended after the intervention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The U.S. Supreme Court issued its historic Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, on May 17, 1954. Tied to the 14th Amendment, the decision declared all laws establishing segregated schools to be unconstitutional, and it called for the desegregation of all schools throughout the nation. After the decision, NAACP attempted to register black students in previously all-white schools in cities throughout the South. In Little Rock, the capital city of Arkansas, the Little Rock School Board agreed to comply with the high court's ruling. Virgil Blossom, the Superintendent of Schools, submitted a plan of gradual integration to the school board on May 24, 1955, which the board unanimously approved. The plan would be implemented during the fall of the 1957 school year, which would begin in September 1957. There are two themes that define this work. The Artist. In 1954, few white people could see American racial issues and have the courage to make a bold public stance about it. This painting is an act of bravery. It’s about Vision. It’s about Guts. The Art. Evergood was a Jewish American, fresh with the horrors of WWII in his mind. Nazi Germany exterminated Jews. Evergood felt America was exterminating Blacks. The world looked on with horror the1940’s but did not do anything. In this work, whites look on with horror do nothing. The White House and a concentration camp-like building are seen together. It’s not one black man being killed, i’s a group of blacks that are systematically killed in the same way. Imprisoned blacks, witnessing the execution as they grasp the prison bars. Are they next in line for the death gallows? Evergood is saying that this is America’s Holocaust. ACA Gallery, New York. Gallery of Modern Art, Columbus Circle New York Owen Gallery, New York ACA Gallery, New York. Gallery of Modern Art, Columbus Circle New York Owen Gallery, New York
  • Creator:
    Philip Evergood (1901-1973, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1955
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 30.5 in (77.47 cm)Width: 22 in (55.88 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Miami, FL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU38536277652
More From This SellerView All
  • Civil Rights, Racial Justice Little Rock
    By Philip Evergood
    Located in Miami, FL
    "Civil Rights." Evergood's early commentary on racial issues in the 1950s depicts four black men gagged, roped and hanging from a tree. In the background, imprisoned blacks look on through a barbed-wire fence. Whites watch in horror but do nothing to help. Meanwhile, a two-legged and three-headed serpent who symbolizes evil - wraps himself around the tree that physically and symbolically separates the races. This is an important work in the history of American art. It may be one of the very earliest examples of a major American painter doing a major work that challenges racial segregation and injustice at a time when no one else would. The title of the work is inspired by a Historic Supreme Court decision on racial segregation. The Little Rock...
    Category

    1950s American Realist Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • George Washington Marine Procession New York Presidential Inauguration, Life Mag
    By Robert Riggs
    Located in Miami, FL
    "The Great Man Comes to Take His Oath" Life Magazine Spread, July 4th, 1960, This epic narrative depicts the celebration of George Washington's inauguration, en route to Federal Hall...
    Category

    1930s American Realist Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • The 11 Gauge Shotgun - Saturday Evening Post illustration
    By Amos Sewell
    Located in Miami, FL
    Saturday Evening Post interior illustration Signed lower right
    Category

    1950s American Realist Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Board

  • Saturday Evening Post cover, August 29, 1959.
    By John Ford Clymer
    Located in Miami, FL
    This work was painted in 1958 ( per the label from Illustration House. It was published in 1959. This is very common in the publishing world where a world of art is commissioned t...
    Category

    1950s American Realist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Board

  • Battle Scene At Sea World War II . Dead Soldiers and Blood Red Sea
    By Mort Künstler
    Located in Miami, FL
    The artist invents and then captures a moment of a peak drama with soldiers being shot and bombs exploding. It's beautifully rendered. This work was published as a two-page spread...
    Category

    1960s American Realist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Gouache

  • A ray of light in the forest - Solitary Man Surreal Landscape
    By Hector Garrido
    Located in Miami, FL
    Hector Garrido is an American book cover illustrator. He illustrated numerous science fiction, horror and adventure book covers, including all the covers for the Baroness series of pulp novels, and covers for the Destroyer series. He also illustrated romance and gothic novels, and Nancy Drew and Hardy...
    Category

    1970s American Realist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Acrylic

You May Also Like
  • "Double Shadow", Oil Painting
    By Kevin Weckbach
    Located in Denver, CO
    Kevin Weckbach's (US based) "Double Shadow" is an original, hand made oil painting that depicts a busy city avenue filled with throngs of bundled walkers casting long shadows on the ...
    Category

    2010s American Realist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

  • "Urban Stream", Oil Painting
    By Kevin Weckbach
    Located in Denver, CO
    Kevin Weckbach's (US based) "Urban Stream" is an original, hand made oil painting that depicts an aerial view of an urban waterway, lined with concrete, cutting through a dense urban...
    Category

    2010s American Realist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Board, Oil

  • Factory Worker
    Located in Los Angeles, CA
    This painting is part of our exhibition America Coast to Coast: Artists of the 1930s Factory Worker, c. 1936, oil on canvas, signed lower right, 18 ¼ x 36 inches; exhibited in City ...
    Category

    1930s American Realist Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • "Pollonia Beach" small plein-air seascape painting of beach in Greece
    By Rachel Personett
    Located in Sag Harbor, NY
    Painted from life, from a beach, looking across a little harbor full of brightly colored boats towards a little whitewashed town. Along the shoreline are the remnants of a child’s sandcastle. Signed "Personett" lower left corner. Framed in a traditional black frame w gold trim. Framed dimensions: 13 x 12 inches Rachel Personett was born in Hawaii, but raised in Colorado. Being the daughter of a pilot she has always traveled extensively. She has studied part time at the Savannah College of Art and Design, The Angel Academy of Art, and finally settled on the Florence Academy of Art, graduating in 2015. In January 2016 she apprenticed the painter Odd Nerdrum in Norway for eight months. Rachel Personett works strictly from life, and enjoys the challenged of painting the ephemeral. Working from life provides the opportunity to travel around the world painting the ever changing people and landscapes. Artist Statement My mother had studied advertising in college, so she knew a lot about arts and good craftsmanship. She did talks at my elementary school each week and on a different artist. I remember being very moved by the images of Van Gogh and Andrew Wyeth. At the Florence Academy I really liked Sargent, Sorolla, Willard Metcalf, Henri Fantin-Latour and Velazquez. At Odd Nerdrums I gained new respect for Rembrandt and was introduced to other Scandinavian painters...
    Category

    2010s American Realist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Panel

  • Carmel Beach
    By Willard Dixon
    Located in Burlingame, CA
    A tranquil oil painting featuring an early evening sunset with people strolling on the main beach in Carmel in front of a majestic sky from Willard Dixon, who is one of the finest American contemporary realist painters today. Dixon has painted coastal landscapes for 35 years, capturing the undeniable beauty of the West with its grand and humble spirit. The painting, with its atmospheric light and calm color palette in natural sky blue and setting sun warm red to purple, is contemporary and serene. The colors are reminiscent of Rothko as they shift in natural bands. Looking at this painting is like looking through a window to a lovely moment as the close of a day. Dixon’s work can be found in numerous distinctive private and public collections, as well as the San Francisco Museum of Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and his work is collected Internationally. Artist signed and dated. A classic Dixon that will sure to bring those who view it a life time of pleasure. Carmel Beach, 18 x 53 inches. Oil on canvas, and traditionally framed in contemporary, minimal oak floater frame. The artist was born: Kansas City MO, 1942 Education: Art Students League, New York, NY Cornell University Brooklyn Museum School San Francisco Art Institute, M.F.A. 1969 Awards and Commissions N.E.A. Fellowship Grant- 1989 California Supreme Court Mural Commission- 1998 Las Vegas Federal Courthouse Commission, G.S.A.-1998 Teaching 1989-90: San Francisco State University 1975: San Francisco Art Institute Realism Seminar 1974-76: Academy of Art College, San Francisco, CA 1973-74, 1976: California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA 1971-72: California State University, Hayward, CA One Man Exhibitions 2015: Willard Dixon Portraits College of Marin Fine Art Gallery, Kentfield 2014: SFMOMA Artists Gallery, San Francisco, CA. 2008: SFMOMA Artists Gallery, San Francisco, CA. 2005: Fischbach Gallery, NYC,NY 2005: Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2004: Fischbach Gallery, NYC, NY. 2002: Earl McGrath Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2002: Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, CA 2001: Hackett Freedman Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2000: Fischbach Gallery, NYC , NY 2000: Hearst Art Gallery, St. Mary’s College, Moraga, CA 1998: Hackett Freedman Gallery, SF, CA 1997: Tatistcheff/Rogers Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1996, 1995: Contemporary Realist Gallery (now Hackett Freedman Gallery) 1994: Fischbach Gallery 1993: Contemporary Realist Gallery 1992: Fischbach Gallery 1991: Earl McGrath Gallery, 454 North, Los Angeles, CA 1990: Fischbach Gallery 1989: William Sawyer Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1988: Gallery 454 North, Los Angeles, CA 1987: Fischbach Gallery 1987: Gallery 454 North 1986: William Sawyer Gallery 1985: Fischbach Gallery 1984: Harris Gallery, Houston, Tx 1984: William Sawyer Gallery 1983, 1982: Fischbach Gallery 1981: William Sawyer Gallery 1980,1979: Tortue Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1976, 1975: William Sawyer Gallery 1973, 1972: William Sawyer Gallery Selected Group Exhibitions 2017: SHIFT / with Elizabeth Barlow, Kim Frohsin, Erin Parrish, Irene Zweig, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA 2015: REAL with Elizabeth Barlow Gallerie Citi, Burlingame, CA. 2014: Stillness and Activity / A father and daughter exhibition, Gallerie Citi, Burlingame, CA. 2013: Outwin Boocher Portrait Competition 2013 Exhibition” Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C. Hey Everybody / Portraits, Diablo Valley College 2012: Artistic Visions of the Golden Gate Bridge”, George Krevsky Gallery, S.F., CA. Introduction Two/ Gallerie Citi, Burlingame, CA. 2011: California: A Landscape of Dreams/ Fresno Art Museum 2010: Self Portrait Invitational/ Julie Nester Gallery, Park City UT 2009: On Beauty /I. Wolk Gallery, St. Helena, CA. 2008: At Water’s Edge / I. Wolk Gallery, St. Helena, CA. 2007: San Francisco Scenes/ George Krevsky Gallery, S.F., CA Ten Years- A Retrospective/ Dolby Chadwick Gallery, S.F., CA. 2006: Our Planet, Our Home/ SFMOMA Artists Gallery, S.F. CA 2005: 2005 Spring Group Show/ Earl McGrath Gallery, L.A., CA 2002: H2O’02, Paintings of Water/ Fischbach Gallery, NYC Scene in Oakland 1852-2002 Oakland Museum Oakland, CA The Garden/ Art Foundry Gallery, Sacramento, CA The Moving Still Life/ Fischbach Gallery, New York, NY Bay Area Printmakers/ works from Trillium Press, Art Foundry Gallery, Sacramento, CA California Landscape Paintings/ College of Marin Art Gallery, Kentfield, CA Bay Area Printmakers/ SF Museum of Modern Art/Artists Gallery, San Francisco, CA Visions: Northern California/ Bank of America, San Francisco, CA 2001: Opening Exhibit: Group Show, Fischbach Gallery, NY, NY 2000: Hackett Freedman Gallery Artists/ Shasta College Art Gallery, Redding, Ca 1999: Homage to the Art Institute, Artists Who Transformed American Culture, Hackett Freedman Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1999: What is Art For? What are Museums For? What are You For? curated Curated for the Oakland Museum by William T. Wiley & Mary Hull Webster, Oakland, CA 1998: Paintings of Marin County Past and Present/ The North Point Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1997: 10th Anniversary Exhibition/ Hackett Freedman Gallery, S.F., CA 1996: Rediscovering the Landscape of the Americas/ Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM (traveling exhibition) Contemporary American Realist Painters/ Halls Crown Center Gallery, Kansas City, MO 1996: Foundation for the Future: Celebrating 125 Years at the San Francisco Art Institute/ One Bush St., S.F., CA 1996: New Work by Selected Gallery Artists, Tatistcheff/Rogers Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Flower Paintings/ Contemporary Realist Gallery, S.F., CA 1995: Facing Eden: 100 Years of Landscape Art in the Bay Area / De Young Museum, S.F., CA Contemporary Still Life Painting/ David Klein Gallery, Birmingham, MI 1994: Still Life/ Fischbach Gallery, New York City, NY New Bay Area Painting/ Contemporary Realist Gallery, S.F., CA A Room with a View/ The North Point Gallery, S.F., CA 1993: Bay Area Painting/ Contemporary Realist Gallery, S.F., CA Vanishing Point: A Look at Contemporary Landscape Painting”, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA Tribute/ William Sawyer Gallery, S.F., CA Revolution: Into the 2nd Century at the San Francisco Art Institute, One Market Plaza, S.F., CA Contemporary Realism: Central and Northern California Landscapes/ Monterey Museum of Art, Monterey, CA The Artist as Native: Reinventing Regionalism/ a traveling exhibition curated by Alan Gussow and Babcock Galleries, N.Y., NY 1992: A Day in the Country, California Landscape Painting / I. Wolk Gallery, St. Helena, CA West Art and the Law/ Weat Publishing Co., St. Paul, MN(traveling ex.) The New York Academy of Art, New York, NY In Support of Contemporary Bay Area Artists / One Market Plaza, S.F., CA 1991: The Landscape in 20th-Century American Art: Selections from the Metropolitan Museum of Art/ New York, NY, National Traveling Exhibit 1990: Contemporary Landscapes/ 21st Anniversary Exhibition Tortue Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. 1990: New Bay Area Painting Contemporary Realist Gallery, S.F., CA 1989: The Modern Pastoral/ Robert Scholekopf Gallery, New York, NY 1988: Images of the Land/ William Sawyer Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1988: Ten Artists from the William Sawyer Gallery / Shasta College Gallery, Redding CA Works on Paper/ William Sawyer Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1987: The Contemporary American Landscape/ Swain Gallery, NJ 1986: Landscape, Seascape, Cityscape/ Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, LA 1985: The Bay Area Seen/ Bay Area Regionalists Show, Hall of Flowers, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA Large Scale/ Harris Gallery, Houston, TX A City Collects/ Transamerica Pyramid, San Francisco, CA American Realism/ William Sawyer Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1984: San Francisco Bay Area Painting/ curated by George Neubert for the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, Lincoln, NE American Landscape Painting/ California State University, L.A. CA Western Landscape Painters/ The Museum of the West, Houston, TX The Urban Landscape / One Market Plaza, San Francisco, CA 1982: Collectors Gallery 16/ McNay Art Institute, San Antonio, TX Thirty Approaches to Realism/ William Sawyer Gallery, S.F., CA 1981: Views of California Past and Present/ Triton Museum, Santa Clara, CA Landscapes/ Harris Gallery, Houston, TX 110th Anniversary S.F. Art Institute Alumni Group Show/ William Sawyer Gallery, S.F., CA 1980: Realism/ Walnut Creek Civic Arts Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA 1979: Bay Area Artists Exhibition/Sale/ Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA Omnium Gatherum/ Tortue Gallery, Los Angeles, CA California Viewpoints/ Sunne Savage Gallery, Boston, MA 1978: New Work/ Mills College Art Gallery, Oakland, CA Images of the Land/ William Sawyer Gallery, S.F., CA 1977: Contemporary California Artists/ Marshall-Meyers Gallery Alternative to the Whitney Annual/ James Yu Gallery, N. Y, N.Y. San Francisco Art Festival/ ( Airport Competition Purchase Prize) 1977: Eight Young Americans/ Montclair Museum of Art, Montclair,NJ 1976: Three From California/ Francine Sedars Gallery, Seattle, WA Faculty Show/ California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA 1975: Realism in Painting and Ceramics/ Helen Euphrat Gallery, De Anza College, Cupertino, CA 1975: A Tribute to the Art Institute/ Hansen Fuller Gallery, S.F., CA California Artists/ Utah Museum of Fine Art, Salt Lake City, UT 1974: Our Land, Our Sky, Our Water/ by Alfred Frankenstein Expo 74, Spokane, WA A Sense of Place/ curated by Alan Gussow for the Joslyn Museum, Omaha, NE The Discovery Gallery, Montclair, N.J. 1973: College of Marin Gallery, Kentfield, CA California Artists/ Kaiser Center, Oakland, CA 1972: Visiting Artists/ California State University, Hayward, CA 1970: Drawing Invitational/ Emanuel Walter Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, S.F., CA 1970: San Francisco Art Institute Centennial Exhibition, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, S.F., CA 1967: Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art Annual, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, S.F., CA 1966: California Landscape Painters/ San Francisco Art Institute, S.F. CA. Selected Collections The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Oakland Museum The Utah Museum of Fine Art San Francisco Art Commission Shaklee Corporation Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Francisco, CA Kemper Insurance Company, Long Grove, Il Morrison and Foerester, San Francisco, CA SSI Container Corporation, San Francisco, CA San Francisco International Airport Oxford Petroleum Company, Houston,TX California First Bank, San Francisco, CA United Pipeline, Houston, TX Security Pacific National Bank, S.F., CA Crocker Bank, Los Angeles, CA Visa Corporation, San Francisco, CA Atlantic Richfield Corporation Shell Oil, Houston, TX First National Bank of Seattle RREEF Corporation, San Francisco, CA Texas Heritage Society Genstar Corporation, San Francisco, CA Sohio Corporation Skidmore Owings and Merrill, N.Y.C., NY Chemical Bank, NY Swissre Corporation, NY The Insurance Company of North America First National Bank of Midland, Texas Commerce Bank AMA Headquarters, Washington, DC Hughes Tool, Houston, TX ATT, NY Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, San Francisco, CA IBM Corporation, San Jose, CA Northern Trust Company, Chicago, IL Smith Kline and French Corp., Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Bank, San Francisco, CA Republic National Bank Chevron Trammel Crow Company, Dallas, CA U.S. Insurance Group, N.J. Southwestern Bell Corp., MO Union Bank Pacific Bell United States Trust Company, NY The United Bank of Denver, CO Cigna Corp., Philadelphia, PA Atlantic Richfield Corp., Los Angeles, CA Show, Pittman, Pots and Trobridge, Washington, DC San Francisco Zen Center Hughes Aircraft Co. Los Angeles, CA Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M), St. Paul, MN Bank of America, NY Commerce Bancshares, Inc., Kansas City,MO Robinson Humphrey/American Express, Atlanta, GA Merrill Lynch, San Francisco, CA Goldman Sachs, NY Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., NY Victoria Bank and Trust, Victoria, TX NYNEX, NY Coca Cola, U.S.A., Atlanta, GA TransAmerica Corporation Pacific Telesis Group Brobeck, Phleger, & Harrison Exxon Corporation U.S. Trust Selected Private Collections Estate of Ahmet Ertegun, New York, NY Mr. Harrison Ford, Los Angeles, CA Estate of Irving Lazarr, Los Angeles, Ca Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Holzer, New York, NY Mr. and Mrs. Peter Asher, Los Angeles, CA Mr. John Irvin, London, England Ms. Joan Didion, New York , NY Ms. Sabrina Guinness, London, Eng. Mr. and Mrs. Austin Hills, San Francisco, CA Mr. and Mrs. Peter Duchin Ms. Linda Ronstadt Ms. Faye Dunaway Mr . Peter Morton Mrs H.J. Heinze, New York, NY Mr. Rupert Lowenstein Mr. and Mrs. Robert Emery, San Francisco, CA Mr. Earl Mc Grath, New York, NY Mr. Nat Weiss, New York, NY Mr. Luca Barilla Mr. Bruce Schnietzer, New York, NY Dr. and Mrs. Robert Carroll, New York, NY Mrs. Nicholas Boyd, San Francisco, CA Mr. and Mrs. Robert Green, San Francisco, CA Mr. Chappy Morris, New York, NY Ms. Carla Kirkeby, Los Angeles, CA Mr. and Mrs. Elliot Caplow, Los Angeles, CA Mr. and Mrs. Robert Meyerowitz, New York, N.Y. Mr. and Mrs. Steven Gilsendaine Mrs. Caroline Cushing Graham, Los Angeles, CA Mr. Michael Nesmith, Los Angeles, CA Mr. Griffen Dunne, New York, N.Y. Mr. and Mrs. Paul A. Erskine, Pasadena, CA Mr. N.J. Friedman, Hillsborough, CA Mr. Harold Hollingsworth...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • NYC EL American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern WPA Era Figurative
    By Cecil Crosley Bell
    Located in New York, NY
    NYC EL American Scene Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern WPA Era Figurative Cecil Bell (1906 – 1970) Street Life Under the EL 22 x 30 inches Oil on canvas, c. 1930s Signed upper...
    Category

    1930s American Realist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

Recently Viewed

View All