1955, Roy & Carolyn Bryant in the Courtroom
Ink on Raw Canvas
72” x 72”
2019
After the Trial is a series of paintings illustrated from archival footage filmed moments after Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam were aquitted of the 1955 murder of Emmett Till. The iconic photographed violence inflicted upon Till’s fourteen-year-old body stands in stark contrast to this televised performance of tenderness and intimacy. The cinematic and nostalgic quality of these paintings belie a court system—then and today—haunted by racism violence, and injustice.
Carolyn Bryant Donham, the white woman who originally interacted with Till and falsified details of their encounter, died in 2023 at 88 years old. She was never convicted.
1955 J.W. & Juanita Milam at a Press Conference
Ink on Raw Canvas
72” x 72”
2019
1955, Carolyn Bryant walks into the Courtroom
Ink on Raw Canvas
60” x 144”
2019
2004, Carolyn Bryant outside her home
Ink on Raw Canvas
48” x 72”
2021
