4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2010.

Freedom

Artist Whitfield Lovell (American, b. 1959)

CultureAmerican

Date2001

MediumCharcoal on wood with rifle

DimensionsOverall: 56 x 36 in. (142.2 x 91.4 cm)

InscribedSigned on verso in black marker "Whitfield Lovell 2001"

Credit LineGift of Paul and Susan Hirschbiel, Fran and Lenox Baker, Ashlyn and David Brandt, Roger and Marion Johnson Lidman, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick V. Martin, Dr. Robert and Judy Rubin, Edwin Epstein, Susan R. O'Neal, Lynn and Wayne Goodman, Ann Dearsley Vernon, Mrs. J. Paul Reason and Museum purchase

Object number2002.14

Collections

Modern and Contemporary

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 213

DescriptionThis is a mixed media object composed of wood planks with a charcoal image of an African American man. The subject is a dignified, well-dressed young man and appears life-size. The recycled wooden planks are distressed, with with nail holes and marks. Attached below the image, a rifle hangs horizontally.

Label TextWhitfield Lovell American, b. 1959 Freedom, 2001 Charcoal on wood with rifle Whitfield Lovell creates his assemblages from worn wallboards and floorboards that he finds in old houses and barns. He then draws life-size portraits of anonymous African Americans in charcoal, which he bases on 19th- and 20th-century tintypes, photographs, and postcards that he discovers at flea markets and antique shops. The artist describes these figures as “poignant, familiar images…stand-ins for my own ancestors. These people were defining themselves through their ability to own and define their own space.” With its juxtaposition of the man and gun, Freedom raises questions about the status and position of the man depicted. Does he use the gun to defend his own liberty or do others use the gun to stifle his freedom? Gift of Paul and Susan Hirschbiel, Fran and Lenox Baker, Ashlyn and David Brandt, Roger and Marion Johnson Lidman, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick V. Martin, Dr. Robert and Judy Rubin, Edwin Epstein, Susan R. O’Neal, Lynn and Wayne Goodman, Ann Dearsley Vernon, Mrs. J. Paul Reason, and partial Museum purchase from the Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. Art Purchase Fund 2002.14 ProvenanceArtist, Whitfield Lovell, 2001; D.C. Moore Gallery, 2001-2002; Gift of Paul and Susan Hirschbiel, Fran and Lenox Baker, Ashlyn and David Brandt, Roger and Marion Johnson Lidman, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick V. Martin, Dr. Robert and Judy Rubin, Edwin Epstein, Susan R. O'Neal, Lynn and Wayne Goodman, Ann Dearsley Vernon, Mrs. J. Paul Reason to the Chrysler Museum of Art, September 2002. Exhibition History"Whitfield Lovell: Embers," Boston University Art Gallery, Boston, Ma., Sept. 14 - Oct. 28, 2001. "Whitfield Lovell: Recent Tableaux," Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia, Richmond, Va., Nov. 16 - Dec. 30, 2001. "Whitfield Lovell: One Man's Treasures," Hampton University Museum, October 2 - November 28, 2009. "Remix: A Fresh Look At Our Modern And Contemporary Art Collections," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, November 2, 2011 - March 17, 2012. "The Nexus," Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA, January 25 - April 28, 2013. "Come Together, Right Now: The Art of Gathering," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, October 11, 2020 - January 3, 2021.