A Roxbury artist’s vision of America

Born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, John Wilson (1922–2015) is one of Boston’s most esteemed artists. His work, made over the span of 60 years, continues to resonate with the persistent realities of disenfranchisement, racial prejudice, and social injustice.

“Witnessing Humanity: The Art of John Wilson” is the largest-ever exhibition of Wilson’s work, co-organized by the MFA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Featuring approximately 110 works by the artist in a wide range of media—prints, drawings, paintings, sculpture, and illustrated books—the exhibition explores the many ways Wilson called attention to racial, social, and economic injustices through his art. Challenging both biases and omissions, Wilson explored subjects that include anti-Black violence, the civil rights movement, labor, and family life—with a particular focus on fatherhood. Portraits like Julie and Becky (1956–78) and his Young Americans suite of life-size portraits (about 1972–75) celebrate the essential humanity of Wilson’s family and friends, while other works like Deliver Us from Evil (1943) and The Trial (1951) depict the heinous impacts of systemic prejudice and racism. Wilson’s work speaks to shared experiences, while also displaying his personal search for identity as an artist, Black man, parent, and American.

A significant number of the works are drawn from the MFA’s collection, including a number of early self-portraits and depictions of Martin Luther King Jr. The centerpiece of the Boston presentation of “Witnessing Humanity: The Art of John Wilson” is a reduced-scale bronze maquette for Eternal Presence, the monumental sculpture installed in 1987 on the grounds of the National Center of Afro-American Artists (NCAAA) in Roxbury. Fondly called the “Big Head” by many local residents, the colossal sculpture was described by Wilson as “an image of universal dignity.”

A resident of Brookline for decades, Wilson had an influence and impact on artists and community across Boston that remain deep today. These ties are explored further through community involvement in the exhibition planning process, the accompanying publication, and public programs that take place during the run of the exhibition.

Free Admission with JLH Fund Pass

The Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Impact Fund is providing local communities with free general admission passes to the MFA in celebration of the exhibition “Witnessing Humanity: The Art of John Wilson.”

Visit the Roxbury, Egleston Square, Uphams Corner, Grove Hall, Parker Hill, Mattapan, or Central Library branches of the Boston Public Library to collect the passes and present them at any MFA ticket desk. Valid now through June 22, 2025.