Boston Public Library
Joseph Connolly Courtroom Sketches
Detail from:
Jury drawing, bring back to court
This collection by Massachusetts artist Joseph Connolly contains nearly 350 courtroom sketches that date from the 1970s to the 1990s. Restrictions on photography inside courtrooms--due to concerns about disruption, privacy, and the potential for influencing witnesses or jurors--mean that sketch artists are often the only visual reporters permitted inside courtrooms during proceedings.
Connolly's subjects include defendants, plaintiffs, lawyers, judges, witnesses, evidence, and photographs of crime scenes presented in court. Some witnesses include members of Boston organized crime families, such as the Angiulos, and celebrities like Vanessa Redgrave. His work brings the theater of the courtroom to life, capturing gestures, appearance, and relationships in a way that humanizes, and occasionally dramatizes, the processes of justice.
Critical funding to support long-term preservation of and enhanced public access to Boston Public Library collections, including this one, was provided by the Associates of the Boston Public Library.
Connolly's subjects include defendants, plaintiffs, lawyers, judges, witnesses, evidence, and photographs of crime scenes presented in court. Some witnesses include members of Boston organized crime families, such as the Angiulos, and celebrities like Vanessa Redgrave. His work brings the theater of the courtroom to life, capturing gestures, appearance, and relationships in a way that humanizes, and occasionally dramatizes, the processes of justice.
Critical funding to support long-term preservation of and enhanced public access to Boston Public Library collections, including this one, was provided by the Associates of the Boston Public Library.