We shall overcome – Historic Print
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
A window into the past: We shall overcome, preserved in this historic print. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.
The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. Perfect for a home, office, library or classroom wall, and a gift with a story behind it. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
We shall overcome
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Ben Shahn's drawing of the phrase "We Shall Overcome" gives the civil rights anthem a stark visual form. Shahn, a Lithuanian-born painter and printmaker, spent much of his career documenting social injustice and often tied ordinary people to larger struggles for labor and racial equality. The song, adapted from an earlier gospel hymn, had become the movement's signature chant by the mid-1960s, and 1965 was the year of the Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches, where it was sung widely. This print reproduces the original drawing, which was printed as an illustration in a book.
| Created / published | 1965 |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print. |
| Notes | Repro. of drawing by Ben Shahn. Illus. in: N6537.S5A4 page 41. No ref. copy. This record contains unverified data from caption card. Caption card tracings: African American Hist.; Shahn, Ben. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,037 × 1,536 px · prints to 3 × 5 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-158026 |
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