Heaven on a Mule

Raymond Steth

ca. 1938–43 · Lithograph · Modern and Contemporary Art

Adorned in their homemade wings, all four members of a family and their animals wait expectantly for deliverance to heaven. Strewn around them on the barren earth are their meager possessions, symbols of their poverty. Each prays in his or her own way—the mother prostrate to the ground, afraid to look upon the face of God, while the father, fervent in his belief, sees angels flying towards them in the sky. Steth's picture is both sympathetic and ironic. He understands that even though this family is poor in tangible goods, they are richened by their religious convictions, but he also acknowledges that religion alone will not alter the dire circumstances for African Americans living in the South at the time.

Artist

Raymond Steth

Date

ca. 1938–43

Medium

Lithograph

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Gift of Reba and Dave Williams, 1999