Untitled, Miami, Florida, 1970 (Muhammad Ali with Children)

c. 1970

Gordon Parks

(American, 1912–2006)

America

gelatin silver print

Image: 22.9 x 33.7 cm (9 x 13 1/4 in.); Paper: 23.3 x 34 cm (9 3/16 x 13 3/8 in.); Matted: 45.7 x 55.9 cm (18 x 22 in.)

Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund 2002.71

Courtesy and copyright the Gordon Parks Foundation

Location: not on view

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Description

Considered one of the most influential and engaging photographers of the 20th century, Parks passionately photographed culturally significant events and people around the world. Trained as a photojournalist for the Farm Security Administration in the early 1940s, and later hired by Life magazine, Parks made perceptive images that confronted conditions of poverty and racism that burdened the lives of African Americans. As portrayed in this revealing portrait of the charismatic boxer Muhammad Ali surrounded by smiling children, Parks was skilled in capturing the humanity of his subjects, despite their varying social and economic circumstances—ultimately using his camera as a weapon for political change.