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Window from which Shot was Fired at King

A work made of gelatin silver print.

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  • A work made of gelatin silver print.

Date:

April 7, 1968

Artist:

Unknown press photographer

About this artwork

The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, shocked the nation and was a defining event for the civil rights movement. This press photograph was taken three days after the shooting, from the room in a boarding house where James Earl Ray aimed his gun at King as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. Unlike most newspaper images related to the event—including undoctored pictures of the immediate aftermath of the assassination, the mourning, and the riots that followed—this photograph has been heavily overpainted to produce an eerily dramatic image from the killer’s point of view.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Photography and Media

Title

Window from which Shot was Fired at King

Place

Memphis (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1968

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Dimensions

Image: 17.9 × 21.9 cm (7 1/16 × 8 5/8 in.); Paper: 20.5 × 22.5 cm (8 1/8 × 8 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by Artworkers Retirement Society

Reference Number

2014.74

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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