Still Worth Fighting For

Famous painting by muralist, John Steuart Curry

This painting has a great back story.  For now, who among my history buff friends on this page,or my Facebook friends know what rock band used this mural for the artwork on their debut album cover in the 1970's?

The long quote below comes directly from the pages of the Kansas State Historical Society, and therein lies the hint.

"Curry’s interpretation of John Brown and the antislavery movement in Kansas Territory before the Civil War, is considered one of his best murals. Rich in symbolism, the painting depicts John Brown as an important, albeit fanatic man who would kill for his beliefs. In 1859 Brown was hanged for treason after leading a raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.


The tornado and prairie fires represent the storms of war that gathered and the fires of war that swept the land. The men on either side of Brown symbolize the brother against brother conflict of the Civil War. The two dead men at his feet represent the more than one million soldiers and civilians who were either killed or wounded during the war. Curry’s critics disliked his color scheme and the overall menacing effect of the mural."

Also worth noting are the sentiments of the painter as expressed with John Brown's left leg and foot.  Notice that the foot rests on the head of the slain Confederate soldier, not the Union soldier.