09/28/2026
"My art is the evidence of my freedom." —Thornton Dial
Thornton Dial was born on this day in 1928. His work, “Crossing Waters,” was recently reinstalled in our American art galleries. In this work, Dial confronted the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade through his complex manipulation of found materials. Remnants of white fencing enclose an aerial view of water, calling to mind the constraints of the Middle Passage. Dial conveyed the turbulence of water with the jarring splashes of color that also evoke feelings of anguish. Water serves as a metaphor within African-American traditions, often connecting troubling times to the promise of deliverance.
Roger Manley (American, born 1952), Thornton Dial, Bessemer, AL, 1987, gelatin silver print, Purchase with funds from Joe Williams and Tede Fleming, 2019.137, © (c) Roger Manley.
Thornton Dial, Sr. (American, 1928–2016), Crossing Waters, 2006-2011, wire fencing, clothing, cloth, wood, metal, corrugated tin, shoe, ceramic figurines, and paint on canvas on wood, Museum purchase, and gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection, 2017.42
