A free form illustration of a man entangled with a tiger stepping on the faces of other human b…

Going Along with the Tiger (The Struggling White Man)

Artist Thornton Dial Sr. (American, 1928 - 2016)

Date1997

Mediummixed media on BFK Rives paper

DimensionsSheet: 30 1/8 × 44 3/16 inches (76.5 × 112.2 cm)
Framed: 40 1/16 × 52 1/16 inches (101.8 × 132.2 cm)

Credit LineGift of The Judith Alexander Foundation.

Object number2011.20.3

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Copyright© 2023 Estate of Thornton Dial / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextThe son of a sharecropper from Emelle, Alabama, Thornton Dial Sr. has been nationally recognized as one of the most important self-taught artists of the Southeast. Dial recalled that he learned to draw by studying designs for steel machines when he worked for the Pullman Standard Company, a railroad car factory, from 1952 to 1980. In the early stages of his career, the artist frequently represented tigers to convey what he called “the Struggle”—a term that oftentimes signified to him the plight of African Americans in the United States. Art historians have argued that Dial’s depictions of tigers pointedly resemble panthers, a reference to the Black Panther Party (the 20th-century African American political activist organization). In this work, Dial has depicted a tiger and a man locked in altercation, their limbs dynamically contorted and sprawled across the drawing. The animal, with its striking red hue, serenely gazes at the viewer; in contrast, the man appears startled, his helpless expression suggesting that he has been overpowered by the tiger. Written for Rotation 10 of "Complex Uncertainties: Artists in Postwar America" (2021).

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