Cross wrapped for burning, KKK Rally, New Hampshire or North Carolina
Cross wrapped for burning, KKK Rally, New Hampshire or North Carolina

Currently not on view

Cross wrapped for burning, KKK Rally, New Hampshire or North Carolina,

ca. 1920

Unknown American photographer
2018-136

In this image, a burlap-wrapped wooden cross, soaked in gasoline, awaits lighting during a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) rally. As a ritual, the group’s modern use of cross burning developed in part out of the heroization and exaggerated retelling of the KKK as saviors in the postbellum South as represented in D. W. Griffith’s 1915 film Birth of a Nation. The practice remains one of the KKK’s tactics of intimidation for those they target, including African Americans, Catholics, Jews, and immigrants.

This vernacular snapshot treats the charged subject without dramatic perspective or artfulness. Like the identity of the photographer and the location of the scene, the picturetaker’s relationship to the event and the purpose of the image are unknown.

Information

Title
Cross wrapped for burning, KKK Rally, New Hampshire or North Carolina
Dates

ca. 1920

Maker
Unknown American photographer
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 10.5 × 6 cm (4 1/8 × 2 3/8 in.) sheet: 11.5 × 7.3 cm (4 1/2 × 2 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Marilyn F. Symmes
Object Number
2018-136
Place Depicted

North America, United States, New Hampshire or North Carolina

Culture
American
Type
photographs, snapshots
Techniques
gelatin silver process
Subject
crosses (objects), rallies, automobiles, agricultural land, men

[Gary Edwards Gallery, Washington, D.C., at the NY Works on Paper Fair]; purchased by Marilyn F. Symmes, 2000, given to the Princeton University Art Museum, 2018.

IIIF manifest

The International Image Interoperability Framework, or IIIF, is an open standard for delivering high-quality, attributed digital objects online at scale. Visit iiif.io to learn more.

Open API URL

Our API is generally designed to provide programmatic access to the Museum's collections data for applications that require regular updates and/or the ability to dynamically query and filter the data via the endpoints provided.

Share your feedback with us

The Museum regularly researches its objects and their collecting histories, updating its records to reflect new information. We also strive to catalogue works of art using language that is consistent with how people, subjects, artists, and cultures describe themselves. As this effort is ongoing, the Museum’s records may be incomplete or contain terms that are no longer acceptable. We welcome your feedback, questions, and additional information that you feel may be useful to us. Email us at collectionsinfo@princeton.edu.

Explore More

Holidays at the Museum

Princeton Collects

Mosaic Restaurant