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Heaven on a Mule

Raymond Steth American
ca. 1938–43
Not on view
Adorned in their homemade wings, all four members of a family and their animals wait expectantly for deliverance to heaven. Strewn around them on the barren earth are their meager possessions, symbols of their poverty. Each prays in his or her own way—the mother prostrate to the ground, afraid to look upon the face of God, while the father, fervent in his belief, sees angels flying towards them in the sky. Steth's picture is both sympathetic and ironic. He understands that even though this family is poor in tangible goods, they are richened by their religious convictions, but he also acknowledges that religion alone will not alter the dire circumstances for African Americans living in the South at the time.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Heaven on a Mule
  • Artist: Raymond Steth (American, Norfolk, Virginia 1917–1997 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
  • Date: ca. 1938–43
  • Medium: Lithograph
  • Edition: 3/35
  • Dimensions: 11 in. × 14 1/8 in. (27.9 × 35.8 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of Reba and Dave Williams, 1999
  • Object Number: 1999.529.155
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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