Rose, Ruth Starr (American, 1887-1965). SWING LOW, SWEET CHARIOT. Lithograph, Circa 1940s. Edition size not known. Signed in pencil. Printed on laid paper. In very good condition. 9 3/4 x 13 inches (image), 14 x 19 inches (sheet). In excellent condition.Rose worked in the Chesapeake Bay area, and chose African American people and her sense of their understanding of Biblical themes as major subjects for her lithographs and screeprints. As America comes to terms with the ways in which it finds permissible, or not, the depiction and characterization of one identity group by members of another, Rose's work will be ripe for appraisal and re-evaluation. Whatever the verdict regarding her presentation of the content, it will be recognized for its imaginative composition and her formal mastery of the printmaking techniques she used.
