Martin Luther King Jr.’s Prison Cell Bars (Birmingham Prison)

Object Details

Photograph by: Platon, British, born 1968
Subject of: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., American, 1929 - 1968; Birmingham Jail, American; Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, American, founded 1992

Description: A black-and-white photograph of Martin Luther King Jr.’s prison cell bars in the Birmingham Prison, by Platon. The photograph depicts a close-up of the bars, lock and door to the prison cell. The lock is depicted slightly off-center, on the right. The rest of the photograph are the vertical and horizontal bars of the cell. The interior of the cell is dark. The photograph has a thick white border. The edition number, [5/12], is printed in the bottom left corner. The photographer’s signature and date, [Platon 19], is handwritten in the bottom right corner. Inside the border, at the bottom center, is the photographer’s embossed mark: [PLATON ? / EDITIONED ? / PRINT ?[encircled between two bands of embossed dots]]. The back of the photograph is plain and white.

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Platon

2010; printed 2019

Restrictions & Rights: © Platon; Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

Medium: pigment on paper
Dimensions: H x W (image): 14 3/8 × 21 1/2 in. (36.5 × 54.6 cm); H x W (sheet): 20 × 24 in. (50.8 × 61 cm); H x W (matted): 22 × 28 in. (55.9 × 71.1 cm)

Place printed: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
Place captured: Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Photographs and Still Images

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Topic: African American; Activism; American South; Civil Rights; Law; Photography; Prisons

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd53ea53ec8-9cfe-4acc-9f96-1cfe3a30f0e8