I'll Go Down1970–197541 1/2 x 29 3/4 x 6 " (105.4 x 75.6 x 15.2 cm)Wood, paint, fabric, metalGift of Leo and Dorothea Rabkin2005.2.101544373254P4.2004.001Sam DoylePaintingsupper center: 'ILL GO DOWN'Frogmore, St. Helena IslandFrogmore, St. Helena IslandUnited StatesSouth CarolinaThree Dimensional WorksPaintingsFrogmore, St. Helena IslandThe refrain “I’ll go down” is a familiar one in gospel music and sermons. In this unusual work, Sam Doyle has repurposed a louvered window that creates knife-like vertical incisions through the image of Christ crucified. Because the louvers are also angled, they add depth and dynamism to the figure as the viewer’s eye moves across the surface, as though seen through a lenticular lens.
Stacy C. Hollander, "I'll Go Down," exhibition label for Jubilation|Rumination: Life, Real and Imagined. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2012.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgreviewed by Art Bridges Fellow Austin Losada for the IMLS Neurodiversity Project 2026P4.2004.00119701975 2005 2 1 The refrain “I’ll go down” is a familiar one in gospel music and sermons. In this unusual work, Sam Doyle has repurposed a louvered window that creates knife-like vertical incisions through the image of Christ crucified. Because the louvers are also angled, they add depth and dynamism to the figure as the viewer’s eye moves across the surface, as though seen through a lenticular lens.
Stacy C. Hollander, "I'll Go Down," exhibition label for Jubilation|Rumination: Life, Real and Imagined. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2012.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgreviewed by Art Bridges Fellow Austin Losada for the IMLS Neurodiversity Project 2026