"END YOUR SILENCE" by William Kent, (Amer.,1919-2012)

Slate Print, 1965, Ed. 8/50, 25-1/4 x 20, signed, dated and annotated "monoprint" in black ball point pen, on golden mustard colored felt, a vibrant impression of this large print by Kent. One of the artist's Gravestone Series, essentially an anti-war series. END YOUR SILENCE was the title of an editorial in the New York Times on June 27th, 1965, signed by 579 artists, writers, editors. musicians and theater people protesting American policies and involvment in the Vietnam War. Though Kent was not among those signing, he quickly embraced  their stance and promoted their message carving it in stone and producing this print. The death's head and decorative borders were inspired by similar motifs found on colonial era gravestones Kent observed in the small ancient cemetaries dotting the rural farming communities of Connecticut.