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Study for "White Squad #2"

1982

American, 1922 - 2004

Since the 1950s, Leon Golub's art has unflinchingly portrayed power struggles in our outsociety, addressing such subjects as the Holocaust, the atomic bombings in Japan, and the Vietnam War. He sees his work as a microcosm, hoping that it prompts the viewer to look critically at the imbalance of power in the outside world. This drawing is a study for the large painting "white Squad II" from a series that depicts police officers' aggressions against civilians. This work shows the moment right before the officer pulls the trigger. Golub heightens the tension by making the viewer a silent witness and therefore complicit in the act.

Conte crayon on paper

Comp/sheet h.: 22 in.

Comp/sheet w.: 29 7/8 in.

Frame h.: 30 7/8 in.

Frame w.: 38 1/4 in.

Gift of Jerome D. Whalen

90.33

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Freeing the Figure, December 2, 2009 - July 3, 2011

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "The Art of Protest" April 27, 2000 - January 21, 2001

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Five Installations on the Fourth Floor: Unpretty Pictures", June 26, 1997, (6/26/1997)

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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