Pharaoh’s Army Got Drownded
1941
Fresco
41” x 61”
Pharaoh’s Army Got Drownded was created in the form of a lithograph, a serigraph, and a large-scale fresco for the Copperville Church. As an important African American spiritual, the allegorical picture shows Moses parting the Red Sea as a symbol of black freedom from oppression. In all versions, the pastor of the Copperville Church is portrayed as Moses, and his son is portrayed as an angel. An angel trumpets down to the congregation and a festive riverboat floats on the Red Sea. The piece incorporates the entire Copperville Church congregation, and was made to honor Reverend Wilson’s soldier son, Private Norman E. Wilson, who died early in World War II.