John Lewis and Colleagues, Prayer Demonstration at a Segregated Swimming Pool, Cairo, Illinois

1962, printed 1969

Danny Lyon

Associated Names
Danny Lyon

Artist, American, born 1942

Magnum Photos

Publisher

In this black-and-white photograph, three people are kneeling outdoors in front of a brick wall with two low windows. Their bodies are mostly turned to us, and their heads are bent. The person on the left is a man with short, curly black hair, wearing a white collared shirt and dark pants. One of his arms rests on his bent knee as he holds a small rectangular booklet or piece of paper. His brow is furrowed, and his mouth appears slightly open, as if he is speaking. The person in the middle appears to be a woman or girl with short black hair, wearing a light-colored shirt, shorts, and white shoes. She is also kneeling, her head bent forward, with one arm resting on her knee. Her body faces us directly, and we only see the top of her bent head, which obscures her entire face. The person on the right is another man, wearing a white shirt and dark pants. His head is bowed, and he too is resting one forearm on his knee. His expression is neutral. All three individuals have dark skin, and they kneel on a light gray sidewalk in front of the brick wall behind them. On the right, the foot of a person wearing a white shoe is visible, indicating another person kneeling off to the side.
This object’s media is not available for download. Contact us about image usage.
Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase)

  • Dimensions

    image: 24.13 × 31 cm (9 1/2 × 12 3/16 in.)
    sheet: 27.5 × 35.3 cm (10 13/16 × 13 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2015.19.4466

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Danny Lyon, Clintondale, NY; purchased by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (through Simon Lowinsky Gallery, New York), 1994; acquired by NGA, 2015.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1994

  • Danny Lyon: Photo-Film, 1959–1990, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, February 5 – April 4, 1994

2006

  • Sight/Insight: Photographs from the Permanent Collection, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, April 26 – October 29, 2006

2010

  • No Man's Land: Photography Across Categories, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, September 11, 2010 – January 30, 2011

Inscriptions

by unknown hand, top right corner outside image in red pencil circled: 49; lower right in red ink circled: 59%; lower right in red pencil: pg41; bottom left below image in red pencil: [arrow to left edge]; bottom center in red ink, crossed out in blue ink: 8 3/8; bottom right below image in red pencil: [arrow to right edge of image]; bottom right in graphite circled: 78; on verso, top left on white label, typed in black ink: BLACKS / THE MOVEMENT; by unknown hand, top left perpendicular in green pencil: 49; top left in graphite underlined twice: UTR; top center in black ink underlined: BOOK PRINT; top right perpendicular in green pencil circled: 49; upper left in graphite: JOHN LEWIS (LEFT) / SUMMER 1962 / CAIRO, ILLINOIS / SNCC; upper center in black ink: LYON–"THE MOVEMENT"; center perpendicular stamped in black ink inside rectangular border: Photography By / Danny Lyon / © 1969 MAGNUM PHOTOS / 72 West 45th Street, N.Y.C. 10036; center right stamped in black ink: THIS PRINT / IS NOT TO / BE MOUNTED / OR AIRBRUSHED; center left in graphite: 08; center right crossed out: 58744; center right: 62548; lower left stamped in black ink inside rectangular border: MAGNUM / PHOTO LIBRARY PRINT / NEW YORK. / [line] / LOG REF: [line] / TO BE RETURNED.; graphite annotations: #146 5816; lower right in red pencil reversed, circled in green pencil: can be / cropped; bottom left perpendicular in green pencil circled: 49; lower right perpendicular circled: 49

Wikidata ID

Q64145964

You may be interested in

Loading Results