Selected Portraits / Curator's Statement
As we mark the fiftieth anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, I believe it is important to remember King not merely as a dreamer but as a doer. In his thirteen years of public life as an advocate for civil rights, economic opportunity, and world peace, King motivated others not only by communicating his vision for a brighter future but by acting boldly to challenge injustice. Despite enormous odds and the ever-present risk of failure, King led by example, exhibiting courage and character as he maintained his steadfast commitment to nonviolent resistance and direct action. Anyone can dream of a better and more just world. Martin Luther King Jr. dedicated his life to making that dream a reality.
—Ann M. Shumard, Senior Curator of Photographs
This exhibition has been funded by the Guenther and Siewchin Yong Sommer Endowment Fund and an anonymous donor.National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
June 28, 2013 through June 1, 2014
Media partner:
Martin Luther King Jr. with Coretta Scott King and their daughter Yolanda on the steps of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
Dan Weiner (1919–1959)
Gelatin silver print, 1956
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Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy ride the first integrated bus in Montgomery, Alabama
Ernest Withers (1922–2007)
Gelatin silver print, 1956 (printed later)
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Time magazine portrait of Martin Luther King Jr.
Boris Chaliapin (1904–1979)
Watercolor and pencil on board, 1957, after photograph by Walter Bennett
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Martin Luther King Jr. shortly after his release from Reidsville Penitentiary, Georgia
Jack Lewis Hiller (born 1930)
Gelatin silver print, 1960
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Martin Luther King Jr.
Yousuf Karsh (1908–2002)
Gelatin silver print, 1962
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Official button from the March on Washington
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Martin Luther King Jr. at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
Bob Adelman (born 1930)
Gelatin silver print, 1963
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Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh and Martin Luther King Jr.
Unidentified photographer
Digital inkjet print, 1964 (printed 2007)
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March against the Vietnam War, New York City
Benedict J. Fernandez (born 1936)
Gelatin silver print, 1967 (printed 1989)
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