The Problem We All Live With

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The Problem We All Live With
The-problem-we-all-live-with-norman-rockwell.jpg
Artist Norman Rockwell
Year1964
Medium Oil on canvas
Dimensions91 cm× 150 cm(36 in× 58 in)
Location Norman Rockwell Museum [1]

The Problem We All Live With is a 1964 painting by Norman Rockwell that is considered an iconic image of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. [2] It depicts Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old African-American girl, on her way to William Frantz Elementary School, an all-white public school, on November 14, 1960, during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis. Because of threats of violence against her, she is escorted by four deputy U.S. marshals; the painting is framed so that the marshals' heads are cropped at the shoulders, making Bridges the only person fully visible. [3] [4] On the wall behind her are written the racial slur "nigger" and the letters "KKK"; a smashed and splattered tomato thrown against the wall is also visible. The white protesters are not visible, as the viewer is looking at the scene from their point of view. [3] The painting is oil on canvas and measures 36 inches (91 cm) high by 58 inches (150 cm) wide. [5]

Contents

History

Ruby Bridges with US Marshals in 1960 US Marshals with Young Ruby Bridges on School Steps.jpg
Ruby Bridges with US Marshals in 1960

The painting was originally published as a centerfold in the January 14, 1964, issue of Look . [5] Rockwell had ended his contract with the Saturday Evening Post the previous year due to frustration with the limits the magazine placed on his expression of political themes, and Look offered him a forum for his social interests, including civil rights and racial integration. [3] Rockwell explored similar themes in Southern Justice (Murder in Mississippi) and New Kids in the Neighborhood; [6] unlike his previous works for the Post, The Problem We All Live With and these others place black people as sole protagonists, instead of as observers, part of group scenes, or in servile roles. [7] [8] Like New Kids in the Neighborhood, The Problem We All Live With depicts a black child protagonist; [7] like Southern Justice, it uses strong light-dark contrasts to further its racial theme. [9]

While the subject of the painting was inspired by Ruby Bridges, Rockwell used a local girl, Lynda Gunn, as the model for his painting; [10] her cousin, Anita Gunn, was also used. [11] One of the marshals was modelled by William Obanhein. [11]

After the work was published, Rockwell received "sacks of disapproving mail", one example accusing him of being a race traitor. [11]

Legacy

Ruby Bridges and President Barack Obama view the painting in the White House. (video) Ruby Bridges and Obama.jpg
Ruby Bridges and President Barack Obama view the painting in the White House. (video)

At Bridges' suggestion, President Barack Obama had the painting installed in the White House, in a hallway outside the Oval Office, from July to October 2011. Art historian William Kloss stated, "The N-word there – it sure stops you. There's a realistic reason for having the graffiti as a slur, [but] it's also right in the middle of the painting. It's a painting that could not be hung even for a brief time in the public spaces [of the White House]. I'm pretty sure of that." [1] Bridges and Obama viewed the painting together on July 15, 2011, and he told her, "I think it's fair to say that if it hadn't been for you guys, I might not be here and we wouldn't be looking at this together." [12]

A copy of the painting was used to "dress" O. J. Simpson's house during his 1995 murder trial by defense attorney Johnnie Cochran. Cochran hoped to evoke the sympathy of visiting jurors, who were mostly black, by including "something depicting African-American history." [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Rockwell</span> American painter and illustrator (1894–1978)

Norman Percevel Rockwell was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of the country's culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine over nearly five decades. Among the best-known of Rockwell's works are the Willie Gillis series, Rosie the Riveter, The Problem We All Live With, Saying Grace, and the Four Freedoms series. He is also noted for his 64-year relationship with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), during which he produced covers for their publication Boys' Life, calendars, and other illustrations. These works include popular images that reflect the Scout Oath and Scout Law such as The Scoutmaster, A Scout Is Reverent and A Guiding Hand.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregated schools are otherwise equal in quality. The decision partially overruled the Court's 1896 decision Plessy v. Ferguson, which had held that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in quality, a doctrine that had come to be known as "separate but equal". The Court's unanimous decision in Brown, and its related cases, paved the way for integration and was a major victory of the civil rights movement, and a model for many future impact litigation cases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Lincoln Rockwell</span> American Neo-Nazi politician (1918–1967)

George Lincoln Rockwell was an American fascist activist and founder of the American Nazi Party. He later became a major figure in the Neo-Nazi movement in the United States, and his beliefs, strategies, and writings have continued to influence many white supremacists and Neo-Nazis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Racial integration</span> Process of ending racial segregation

Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation, leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely bringing a racial minority into the majority culture. Desegregation is largely a legal matter, integration largely a social one.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruby Bridges</span> American civil rights activist (born 1954)

Ruby Nell Bridges Hall is an American civil rights activist. She was the first African American child to attend formerly whites-only William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis on November 14, 1960. She is the subject of a 1964 painting, The Problem We All Live With, by Norman Rockwell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Rockwell Museum</span> Art museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, US

The Norman Rockwell Museum is an art museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, United States, dedicated to the art of Norman Rockwell. It is home to the world's largest collection of original Rockwell art. The museum also hosts traveling exhibitions pertaining to American illustration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McDonogh Three</span> Students who desegregated a New Orleans public school in 1960

The McDonogh Three is a nickname for three African American students who desegregated McDonogh 19 Elementary School, in New Orleans on November 14, 1960. Even though school segregation had been illegal since the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, no states in the American Deep South had taken action to integrate their schools.

Ruby Bridges is a 1998 television film, written by Toni Ann Johnson, directed by Euzhan Palcy and based on the true story of Ruby Bridges, one of the first black students to attend integrated schools in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1960. As a six-year-old, Bridges was one of four black first-graders, selected on the basis of test scores, to attend previously all-white public schools in New Orleans. Three students were sent to McDonogh 19, and Ruby was the only black child to be sent to William Frantz Elementary School.

<i>Four Freedoms</i> (Rockwell) 1943 painting series by Norman Rockwell

The Four Freedoms is a series of four oil paintings made in 1943 by the American artist Norman Rockwell. The paintings—Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear—are each approximately 45.75 by 35.5 inches, and are now in the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The four freedoms refer to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's January 1941 Four Freedoms State of the Union address, in which he identified essential human rights that should be universally protected. The theme was incorporated into the Atlantic Charter, and became part of the Charter of the United Nations. The paintings were reproduced in The Saturday Evening Post over four consecutive weeks in 1943, alongside essays by prominent thinkers of the day. They became the highlight of a touring exhibition sponsored by The Post and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The exhibition and accompanying sales drives of war bonds raised over $132 million.

<i>Freedom from Want</i> 1943 painting by Norman Rockwell

Freedom from Want, also known as The Thanksgiving Picture or I'll Be Home for Christmas, is the third of the Four Freedoms series of four oil paintings by American artist Norman Rockwell. The works were inspired by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union Address, known as Four Freedoms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Rock Nine</span> African-American students enrolled at a desegregated high school in Arkansas in 1957

The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas. They then attended after the intervention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Frantz Elementary School</span> United States historic place

William Frantz Elementary School is an American elementary school located at 3811 North Galvez Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70117. Along with McDonogh No. 19 Elementary School, it was involved in the New Orleans school desegregation crisis during 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">School integration in the United States</span> Racial desegregation process

In the United States, school integration is the process of ending race-based segregation within American public and private schools. Racial segregation in schools existed throughout most of American history and remains an issue in contemporary education. During the Civil Rights Movement school integration became a priority, but since then de facto segregation has again become prevalent.

The history of the 1954 to 1968 American civil rights movement has been depicted and documented in film, song, theater, television, and the visual arts. These presentations add to and maintain cultural awareness and understanding of the goals, tactics, and accomplishments of the people who organized and participated in this nonviolent movement.

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<i>Working on the Statue of Liberty</i> 1946 painting by Norman Rockwell

Working on the Statue of Liberty, also known as Statue of Liberty, is a 1946 oil painting by American illustrator Norman Rockwell, showing workmen cleaning the torch held aloft by the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.

<i>Trying to Trash Betsy DeVos</i> 2017 political cartoon by Glenn McCoy

Trying to Trash Betsy DeVos is a political cartoon by American cartoonist Glenn McCoy, published on February 13, 2017, on the GoComics website as well as the Belleville News-Democrat website. The cartoon centrally depicts Betsy DeVos, the United States Secretary of Education in the Trump Administration and is thematically based on the 1964 painting The Problem We All Live With by Norman Rockwell. It attracted critical commentary in mainstream media.

Leona Tate is an American activist, Civil Rights pioneer, and community advocate from New Orleans. She was one of the first Black children in the United States to desegregate a public school.

<i>Murder in Mississippi</i> (painting) 1965 painting by Norman Rockwell

Murder in Mississippi, as named by the artist, is a 1965 painting by Norman Rockwell which was commissioned for an article titled "Southern Justice" in the American magazine Look. The painting depicts the 1964 murders of civil rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, and was intended to illustrate an article written on the murders by civil rights attorney Charles Morgan Jr. The painting is oil on canvas 53 x 42 inches, and also has a pencil on board study of the same title, both of which reside in the collections of the Norman Rockwell Museum.

References

  1. 1 2 Gerstein, Josh (August 24, 2011). "Norman Rockwell painting sends rare White House message on race". Politico. p. 1, 2.
  2. Solomon, Deborah (2013). American Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp.  378. ISBN   9780374113094.
  3. 1 2 3 Halpern, Richard (2006). Norman Rockwell: the underside of innocence . University of Chicago Press. pp.  124–31. ISBN   9780226314402.
  4. Greene, Bob (September 4, 2011). "America's glory in a civil rights painting". CNN.
  5. 1 2 ""The Problem We All Live With," Norman Rockwell, 1963. Oil on canvas, 36" x 58". Illustration for "Look," January 14, 1964. Norman Rockwell Museum Collection. ©NRELC, Niles, IL". Norman Rockwell Museum. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
  6. "O say, can you see". The Economist. December 25, 1993 – January 7, 1994.
  7. 1 2 Grant, Daniel (July 24, 1989). "Exhibit Offers Clues to Rockwell's Sentiments". Christian Science Monitor.
  8. "Exile on Main Street". The Economist. December 2, 1999.
  9. Claridge, Laura P (2001). Norman Rockwell: A Life. Random House. ISBN   9781588360649.
  10. Bradway, Rich (October 6, 2019). "Remembering Lynda Jean Gunn - Norman Rockwell Museum - The Home for American Illustration".
  11. 1 2 3 Carson, Tom (19 February 2020). "The true story of the awakening of Norman Rockwell". Vox. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  12. "Ruby Bridges visits with the President and her portrait". YouTube. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  13. Bernstein, Richard, "Shedding Light on How Simpson's Lawyers Won", The New York Times, October 16, 1996.