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Deliver Us from Evil

John Wilson American
1943
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 692
Wilson's outspoken commentary on the unequal response to injustices at home and abroad is played out in this complex, mural-like composition. Divided into two halves, the artist juxtaposes scenes of the war in Europe and the Holocaust (at left) with the persecution and killing of Blacks in the United States (at right). Like many African Americans at the time, Wilson supported the government's war effort, but was angry that no reciprocal fight for freedom was being made on the homefront.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Deliver Us from Evil
  • Artist: John Wilson (American, Roxbury, Massachusetts 1922–2015 Brookline, Massachusetts)
  • Date: 1943
  • Medium: Lithograph, artist's proof
  • Edition: Artist's proof
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 15 1/4 × 19 3/8 in. (38.7 × 49.2 cm)
    Image: 12 × 15 1/2 in. (30.8 × 38.4 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of Reba and Dave Williams, 1999
  • Object Number: 1999.529.191
  • Rights and Reproduction: Courtesy of the Estate of John Wilson
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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