TEERE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A piece of art by a world-renowned black artist who studied in Terre Haute is being displayed publicly for the first time in decades.
The three-piece artwork is by artist Willis Bing Davis, and local historian Dr. Crystal Reynolds currently owns the artwork. The piece is now on display at Indiana State University.
Reynolds explained that Davis studied at Indiana State and she wants his connection to Terre Haute to be known. Reynolds also noted that the artwork is titled “Attica as seen from the base of a wall” and she shared some insight behind the painting.
“This is actually his take on the horrible tragedy at Attica prison in 1971 in New York, but it’s also him honoring those victims of Attica,” Dr. Reynolds explained. “The people who saw it today embraced it and understood it like I did and they see how soulful it is, how important this piece is.”
The art will be on display at ISU for about another week.
For more information about the events of September 1971 at the Attica Prison in New York, where 43 men died as state officials re-took control of the prison following an uprising, click here.
For those interested in viewing the work, email the curator of the permanent art collection.
