Explore Black History

1970

This mixed media work is Jeff Donaldson's interpretation of a photograph taken of the 1970 Marin County courthouse incident. The original newspaper photograph and caption can be seen in the center of the image. The figure on the left in the artwork has his left hand outstretched and the source image in the palm of his hand. In the original photograph, the man on the left is James McClain. In both images, he is holding a gun in his right hand at eye level pointed toward the figure on the right. Unlike McClain in the newspaper photograph, the man in the painting is wearing a black and white horizontally striped shirt with white numbers, [81970], on a black strip reminiscent of prison clothing. He is also wearing tan pants and a white jacket.
The figure on the right in the original image is California Superior Court Judge Harold Haley dressed in black court dress robes. In Donaldson's mixed media piece, the black robes are partially visible but Haley's figure has a skull in place of his head and is reaching toward the man on the left. The piece is multicolored. In the center is black text on a white background that reads [GLASS] and repeats [-SS] below. To the left of the skull is [A] in the stars and stripes pattern of the American flag. The artist signed the work at the bottom. The artwork is floating unglazed in a white frame.

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Visual Arts

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

National Museum of African American History and Culture

2017.33.2

paintings
mixed media

© Jeff Donaldson
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

paint on cardboard with ink on paper

H x W (artwork): 29 1/8 × 19 5/16 in. (74 × 49 cm)
H x W x D (frame): 31 1/8 × 21 3/16 × 1 3/4 in. (79.1 × 53.8 × 4.5 cm)

Title • J.D. McClain’s Day in Court

nmaahc_2017.33.2

NMAAHC

J.D. MCCLAIN’S DAY IN COURT

National Museum of African American History and Culture

CC0

1970s

Haley, Harold Joseph • Black Panther Party • Donaldson, Jeff • AfriCOBRA • Jackson, Jonathan

United States • North and Central America • San Rafael • Marin County • California

Prisons • Art • Law • Mass media • Black power

City • San Rafael • County • Marin County • State • California • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America

Mixed media • Paintings

Images

Limited Use