My Lord What a Morning
1958
Ink study on yellow tracing paper
10 ½” x 16 ½”
Black-and-white lithograph
10” x 16” plate
The black-and-white lithograph and study show a landscape that extends into the heavens, with members of Copperville’s DeShields United Methodist Church in groups on the flat terrain of the Eastern Shore. The Vanguard satellite in the upper left corner was America’s reaction to the Soviet Union’s Sputnik, and represents another layer of security in addition to the watchful guy of God. People raise their arms in gratitude as they look toward the light and rejoice. The congregation’s strength is celebrated as a connection to the natural world, which they believe is more powerful than man’s technology and pointless wars. Listed in the Hampton Institute songbook of 1927, “My Lord What A Morning” is categorized as a hymn of judgment. The song is a rallying cry, inviting others to “hear the trumpet sounds, to wake the nations underground.”
