''The Problem We All Live With '' is a 1964 painting by

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

that is considered an iconic image of the Civil Rights Movement in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It depicts Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

girl, on her way to William Frantz Elementary School, an all-white public school, on November 14, 1960, during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis. Because of threats of violence against her, she is escorted by four deputy U.S. marshals; the painting is framed so that the marshals' heads are cropped at the shoulders, making Bridges the only person fully visible. On the wall behind her are written the racial slur "

nigger In the English language, ''nigger'' is a racial slur directed at black people. Starting in the 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been increasingly replaced by the euphemistic contraction , notably in cases where ''nigger'' is Use–menti ...

" and the letters " KKK"; a smashed and splattered tomato thrown against the wall is also visible. The white protesters are not visible, as the viewer is looking at the scene from their point of view. The painting is oil on canvas and measures high by wide.

History

US Marshals with Young Ruby Bridges on School Steps

The painting was originally published as a centerfold in the January 14, 1964, issue of '' Look''. Rockwell had ended his contract with the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'' the previous year due to frustration with the limits the magazine placed on his expression of political themes, and ''Look'' offered him a forum for his social interests, including civil rights and racial integration. Rockwell explored similar themes in '' Murder in Mississippi'' and ''New Kids in the Neighborhood''; unlike his previous works for the ''Post'', ''The Problem We All Live With'' and these others place black people as sole protagonists, instead of as observers, part of group scenes, or in servile roles. Like ''New Kids in the Neighborhood'', ''The Problem We All Live With'' depicts a black child protagonist; like ''Southern Justice'', it uses strong light-dark contrasts to further its racial theme. While the subject of the painting was inspired by Ruby Bridges, Rockwell used a local girl, Lynda Gunn, as the model for his painting; her cousin, Anita Gunn, was also used. One of the marshals was modelled by William Obanhein. After the work was published, Rockwell received "sacks of disapproving mail", one letter accusing him of being a race traitor.

Legacy

At Bridges' suggestion, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

had the painting installed in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

, in a hallway outside the

Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the president of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval room has three lar ...

, from July to October 2011. Art historian William Kloss stated, "The N-word there – it sure stops you. There's a realistic reason for having the graffiti as a slur, utit's also right in the middle of the painting. It's a painting that could not be hung even for a brief time in the public spaces f the White House I'm pretty sure of that." Bridges and Obama viewed the painting together on July 15, 2011, and he told her, "I think it's fair to say that if it hadn't been for you guys, I might not be here and we wouldn't be looking at this together." A copy of the painting was used to " dress"

O. J. Simpson Orenthal James Simpson (July 9, 1947 – April 10, 2024), also known by his nickname "the Juice", was an American professional American football, football player, actor, and media personality who played in the National Football League (NFL) ...

's house during his 1995 murder trial by defense attorney

Johnnie Cochran Johnnie Lee Cochran Jr.Adam Bernstei ''The Washington Post'', March 30, 2005; retrieved April 17, 2006. ( ; October 2, 1937 – March 29, 2005) was an American attorney from California who was involved in numerous civil rights and Police b ...

. Cochran hoped to evoke the sympathy of visiting jurors, who were mostly black, by including "something depicting African-American history."Bernstein, Richard
"Shedding Light on How Simpson's Lawyers Won"
''The New York Times'', October 16, 1996.

References

External links

*
President Obama talking with Ruby Bridges, ''The Problem We All Live With'' painting
(YouTube.com-The White House channel)
Detailed record of the painting via the Norman Rockwell Museum website

2020 Vox.com article about Rockwell and the painting
{{DEFAULTSORT:Problem We All Live With, The Paintings by Norman Rockwell School segregation in the United States Art based on actual events Paintings of African-Americans Works originally published in Look (American magazine) 1964 paintings Civil rights movement in popular culture Art in the White House Paintings of children

History

Legacy

See also

References

External links