Canisters
Artist
Kara Walker
(American, born 1969)
Date1997
MediumMachine blown and etched glass
Dimensions11 1/4 × 30 × 4 1/4 in. (28.6 × 76.2 × 10.8 cm)
ClassificationsGlass
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number2021.4
On View
On view
DescriptionA single, continuous scene stretches across the front surface of all six canisters. Landscapes and houses are visible in the distance and figures appear larger in the foreground. From left to right, the scene includes a white woman in a bonnet standing over a washtub with baby, a Black girl running with a broom and saucepan flying, a white man facing a young Black boy and impaling him on a spear-like implement, a Black toddler leading a white child with a rope about the neck, a Black boy raising his fist while swinging a child by the ankle, a Black man lifting an flail-like implement over his head in the direction of a white man squatting before him who is holding a shackle, and a white woman running with her hair streaming out behind her. In the distance beyond the foregrounded figures, buildings, trees, and paths are visible; one group of buildings, including a church, are on fire and the flames mimic the hair of the fleeing woman who is at the right.