Details

Title

Martin Luther King, Jr. And Coretta Scott King

Artist/Maker

Vernon Burwell (American, 1916–1990)

Date

1987-1988

Medium

Painted concrete over wire and metal armature

Dimensions

each approx. 27 × 10 × 10 inches

Credit

Museum purchase, and gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection

Accession #

2017.36

On View

On View - Stent Family Wing, Skyway, Gallery 404

Inspired by traditional bronze busts that depict great men in history, Vernon Burwell created this homage to civil rights icons Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. He used materials from the hardware store such as wire, concrete, and gold-colored paint to emulate the metallic sheen of cast sculpture. In his front yard in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Burwell once displayed life-size sculptures that included a commanding Jesus Christ figure, Abraham Lincoln, and another version of Dr. King riding a rearing horse, like a revolutionary war hero going into battle.