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4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2020
The Death of Crispus Attucks
4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2020
4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2020

The Death of Crispus Attucks

Artist Hale Aspacio Woodruff (American,1900-1980)
Dateca. 1942
MediumTempera on board
Dimensions17 1/8 x 11 1/16 in. (43.5 x 28.1 cm)
Overall, Frame: 18 3/4 x 12 5/8 in. (47.6 x 32.1 cm)
ClassificationsModern art
Credit LineGift of Mr. A. Ailon
Object number82.95
Terms
  • Death
  • Boston, MA
  • Massacres
  • American Revolution
  • African-American Artist
  • Brown
  • Blue
  • Red
  • Yellow
  • Green
  • White
  • Black
  • Pink
  • Multi-colored
  • Atlanta, GA
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On View
On view
DescriptionThis is a tempera on masonite panel painting. It is arranged as a vertical snapshot, focusing on the action at the center and abruptly cropping the less crucial elements of the scene. This is an allusion to the 1770 Boston Massacre, a precursor to the Revolutionary War; on the left, British troops are led by Captain Thomas Preston and are firing into a rioting crowd of American colonists. The central figure, mortally wounded and being held by another man, is Crispus Attucks, one of the first black martyrs in American history. In the background, Boston's State Street is altered, possibly adapted from Paul Revere's famous engraving.
Label TextHale Woodruff American, 1900–1980 clockwise from lower left: The Death of Crispus Attucks, ca. 1942 Tempera on board Battle of Lake Erie, ca. 1942 Tempera on board Negroes with Jackson at New Orleans, ca. 1942 Tempera on board Sergeant Carney and the Death of General Shaw, ca. 1942 Tempera on board Plans in 1942 for a new building for the municipal Recorder of Deeds in Washington, D.C., included a program of murals honoring the heroism of African Americans throughout U.S. history. Hale Woodruff, an art teacher at historically black Atlanta University, submitted proposals for this prestigious commission, including these four panels. Woodruff had studied mural painting under Mexican modernist Diego Rivera. Although he was not successful in this competition, his works decorate many other public buildings and demonstrate the U.S. government’s active sponsorship of African American artists. Gifts of Mr. A. Ailon 82.95, 83.593–595, respectively
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