Kara Walker
Slaughter of the Innocents (They Might be Guilty of Something)

Slaughter of the Innocents (They Might be Guilty of Something)

© Kara Walker

Slaughter of the Innocents (They Might be Guilty of Something)
Slaughter of the Innocents (They Might be Guilty of Something)
ArtistAmerican, born 1969
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Slaughter of the Innocents (They Might be Guilty of Something)
Date2016
MediumCut paper, acrylic, and graphite on canvas
DimensionsCanvas: 79 × 220 in. (200.7 × 558.8 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund
Object number2017.487
Not on view

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Description

Kara Walker addresses the history of slavery and today’s persistent racism through vividly rendered narratives. Using cut-out silhouettes that reflect and confound stereotypes of the Antebellum era, Walker demands that we confront this toxic legacy. Critic Hilton Als has written, “In Walker’s work, slavery is a nightmare from which no American has yet awakened . . . leaving us all scarred, hateful, hated, and diminished.”


Slaughter of the Innocents (They Might be Guilty of Something) is among Walker’s first large-scale compositions mounted on canvas. Here she restages the Biblical narrative, with violence matched by mourning, subjection countered by erotic power.


ProvenanceThe artist; [Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York]; purchased by MFAH, 2017.
Exhibition History"Sikkema Jenkins and Co. is Compelled to present The most Astounding and Important Painting show of the fall Art Show viewing season!," Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, September 7–October 14, 2017.

"Witness," Nancy and Rich Kinder Building Inaugural Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, November 15, 2020–November 15, 2022.


Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Verso: Signed in graphite, right center: Kara Walker / 2016

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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