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Mar 3, 2015

Demonstrators at the March on Washington, on the Grass Field at the Washington Memorial, Washington, D.C.

1963

Leonard Freed

(American, 1929–2006)

America, 20th century

Gelatin silver print

Image: 20.3 x 13.3 cm (8 x 5 1/4 in.); Paper: 25.3 x 20.2 cm (9 15/16 x 7 15/16 in.)

Gift of George Stephanopoulos 2014.586

Location

not on view

Artist biography

Leonard Freed

Born in Brooklyn to Jewish, working-class parents of Eastern European descent, Leonard Freed (1929–2006) went to Europe to become a painter but instead discovered photography. After studying the medium in New York City, he worked as a documentary photographer and photojournalist in Europe. In 1972 he joined Magnum, the celebrated collaborative photo agency. Freed’s photographs in this exhibition are from Black in White America, a series inspired by an experience he had while covering the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. As he photographed an African American soldier guarding the border, it struck Freed that this man was risking his life to defend a country that limited his own rights. Freed returned to New York to undertake a multiyear exploration of African American life. Freed began shooting around New York, and then traveled extensively throughout the South. He spent time in communities getting to know his subjects, and kept a journal recording his impressions and their stories and words. During these years, he also covered Martin Luther King Jr. and numerous civil rights events, but when Freed published Black in White America in 1968, the book focused instead on the fabric of daily life. As a photojournalist, Freed was an observer rather than a participant, but not an impartial one. He believed that “photography is about who you are. It’s the seeking of truth in relation to yourself.”

Inscriptions

Inscription

Written in pencil on verso: "LFBWA-236" Written in pencil on verso: "6000" Stamped in blue ink on verso: "BLACKS: March on Washington 63 (written in pencil)" Imprinted in black type on white adhesive label on verso: "Consignment/#79110 jlm" Written in blue ink on verso: "Blacks/PROTEST (scribbled out in red marker)" Written in pencil on verso: "3025-c-76" Written in blue ink on verso: "62478" Written in pencil on verso: "66305" Written in pencil on verso: "UNIQUE" Stamped in black ink on verso: "VINTAGE PRINT" Written in pencil on verso: "1963 WASHINGTON, D.C., USA/8-28-1963 MARCH ON WASHING-/TON" Written in pencil on verso: "40336 (crossed out)" Stamped in black ink on verso: "MAGNUM/PHOTO LIBRARY PRINT/NEW YORK 20690 (written in pencil and crossed out)/39762 (written in pencil and crossed out)/26993 (written in pencil and crossed out)/26253 (written in pencil and underlined)/LOG REF. (stamped in black ink) 8051 (written in pencil and crossed out) 9735 (written in pencil and crossed out)/37282 (written in pencil and crossed out) TO BE RETURNED (stamped in black ink) 45147" Imprinted in black type on white adhesive label on verso: "Consignment/#78292 LST" Written in pencil on verso: "Leonard Freed (signed)" Stamped in black ink on verso: "© Leonard Freed-Magnum" Written in pencil on verso: "1963 WASHINGTON, D.C.-USA BOOK "BLACK IN WHITE AMERICA" Imprinted in black type on white adhesive label adhered to white paper label on verso: "BLACKS/March on/Washington 1963" Imprinted in black type on white paper label adhered to verso with scotch tape: "LEONARD FREED USA/CIV: 14 (written in black marker)/Demonstrators at the March on/Washington, August 1963 on the/grass field at the Washington/Memorial, /079-11 (crossed out in pencil) =old # (written in pencil)" Stamped in black ink (and partially hidden by paper label): "LEONARD" Written in pencil on verso and partially hidden by paper label: "079"

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{{cite web|title=Demonstrators at the March on Washington, on the Grass Field at the Washington Memorial, Washington, D.C.|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/2014.586|author=Leonard Freed|year=1963|access-date=30 May 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Images

Demonstrators at the March on Washington, on the Grass Field at the Washington Memorial, Washington, D.C.

Demonstrators at the March on Washington, on the Grass Field at the Washington Memorial, Washington, D.C.

Leonard Freed

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Leonard Freed

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Demonstrators at the March on Washington, on the Grass Field at the Washington Memorial, Washington, D.C.

Demonstrators at the March on Washington, on the Grass Field at the Washington Memorial, Washington, D.C.

Leonard Freed

Location

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Leonard Freed

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