Keep Your Hand on the Plow
1950
Serigraph
12 1/2” x 16” plate
There is a timeless quality to this serigraph. The swirling composition illustrates how farmers work the land to bring unity to their world and in so doing, are enlightened by the heavens above. The color palette of pale blue, yellow, and tan illustrates the water’s edge, arable fields, and farmers of both races. Also known as Keep Your Eye on the Prize, this African American spiritual evolved as an important anthem of unity during the civil rights movement. Although made fifteen years prior to the civil rights movement, this print was recognized in its time, and won second prize in an exhibition at the Library of Congress in 1950, and again in New York in 1951 when it was awarded the Peace and Progress Prize at the NY Council for the Arts.
