New Kara Walker Exhibit at The Frick Museum Brings to Light Experiences Often Left Out in Historical Archives

On display at The Frick Museum, this moving collection of historical representations is a must-visit while it's in town.

Comprised of 15 large scale prints, Kara Walker: Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated) revisits the historical representations found in the two-volume anthology published in 1866, "Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War." Walker overlays enlargements of woodcut plates with her black silkscreen cutout figures in solid black silhouette. In doing so, Walker brings to light experiences of racism that were often omitted or merely hinted at in traditional historical narratives.

Kara Walker is her generation’s Andy Warhol…There’s nothing more Warholian than a superficial gloss that disguises great depths of meaning.

The Washington Post

Exhibit Features

Kara Walker, Alabama Loyalists Greeting the Federal Gun-Boats. From Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated), 2005. Offset lithography and silkscreen. Sheet: 39 x 53 inches (99.1 x 134.6 cm). Edition of 35. Courtesy of the New Britain Museum of American Art, 2019.4.15 © Kara Walker
Kara Walker, Confederate Prisoners Being Conducted from Jonesborough to Atlanta. From Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated), 2005. Offset lithography and silkscreen Sheet: 39 x 53 inches (99.1 x 134.6 cm). Edition of 35. Courtesy of the New Britain Museum of American Art, 2019.4.7 © Kara Walker
Kara Walker, Exodus of Confederates from Atlanta. From Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated), 2005. Offset lithography and silkscreen Sheet: 39 x 53 inches (99.1 x 134.6 cm). Edition of 35. Courtesy of the New Britain Museum of American Art, 2019.4.12 © Kara Walker
Kara Walker, Lost Mountain at Sunrise. From Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated), 2005. Offset lithography and silkscreen Sheet: 39 x 53 inches (99.1 x 134.6 cm). Edition of 35. Courtesy of the New Britain Museum of American Art, 2019.4.7 © Kara Walker

Guest Labelists

Amanda Boston, Assistant Professor, Department of Africana Studies, University of Pittsburgh
Tara Fay Coleman, artist, curator, and writer committed to fostering critical dialogue in the arts
Madeline Gent, Executive Director, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh
Jasmine Green, Black Girl Absolute
Jim Griffin, Director of Equity and Community Engagement, University of Pittsburgh
Michael Kraus, Curator, Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum
Bryanna McDaniel, MPH, Public Health Professional
Shaun Myers, Assistant Professor, Department of English, University of Pittsburgh
Alaina E. Roberts, Associate Professor of History, University of Pittsburgh
Kirk Savage, William S. Dietrich II Professor, History of Art and Architecture, University of Pittsburgh
Haifa Subay, artist
Heather White, Artist and Director of Learning, The Andy Warhol Museum
Quaishawn Whitlock, Artist and Educator
Imin Yeh, Associate Professor of Art and Director of Foundational Studies, Carnegie Mellon University

Experience Kara Walker: Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated) from March 1 through May 25, 2025. Tickets are not timed. You may enter the exhibition at any time between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. during the day of your ticket. Click here to purchase tickets.

Enjoy free admission to Kara Walker: Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated) thanks to generous support from Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Registration is required for entry.

Please note: Kara Walker: Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated) contains sensitive imagery and descriptive content related to instances of racially motivated violence in the Civil War South. There will be a reflection space as part of the exhibition.