Growing up, I remember seeing this picture on wall at the Huxtables house. It was part of just about every household in America for years. It always hung on their wall in their living room but was never really discussed; it just 'was'. Today I happened to see the picture online and decided to look it up, not realizing that it was supposed to be a funeral procession, which happens to also be the name of the piece. On the Cosby Show, Claire Huxtable supposedly won the picture in an auction for $11,000! She claimed that the picture was created by her great uncle Ellis (Ellis Wilson is the creator of the piece). According to Wikipedia, the most that any Ellis Wilson painting went for was $300 so the price that Claire paid was quite extravagant!
What a great piece though. Looking closely you see that there are no faces; no expressions; no emotions. In understanding the days of slavery, many of the slaves weren't allowed to have weddings or funerals or parties or show much emotion. The faceless people, to me, represent the people who lost their names, their families, their true identities due to slavery. The piece also shows children standing with their parents and family, which follows up my post about the importance of kids being at funerals. It also seems to show a long line of funeral goers coming to say their goodbyes. This was a very loved person at this funeral. Each woman is bringing flowers to adorn the body and graveside as they come to say their goodbyes and pay their respect.
I fell in love with this picture thanks to the Cosby Show and still love it to this day. I used to dream that it was hanging in my house, and still would love to have it as a piece of artwork someday. It's always spoken volumes to my heart.
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