Harvey Milk (1930-1978) was an American activist and politician who made history when he became the first out gay man to be elected to public office in California. Moving from New York to San Francisco in the early 1970s, Milk became politicised by the city’s burgeoning gay rights movement, and in 1977 he was elected to the board of city supervisors, where he set about trying to win basic equalities for San Francisco’s ever-growing LGBTQ+ population. During his short period in office, Harvey Milk sponsored a bill banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment and public housing. The bill was passed by a vote of 11 to 1 and was signed into law by the city’s mayor, George Moscone; but on 27th November 1978, both Moscone and Milk were assassinated by a disgruntled political opponent, the only supervisor who had voted against the bill. The story was told in the documentary film The Times of Harvey Milk (1984), narrated by Harvey Fierstein, and later dramatised in the acclaimed biopic Milk (2008), directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Dustin Lance Black, who received the Oscar for Best Screenplay. Harvey Milk himself was played by Sean Penn, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Framed Dimensions: 257mm x 304mm (Unframed: 148mm x 206mm)

Pink and ivory black ink on 100gsm Seawhite watercolour paper
Glazed, mounted and framed

Supplied with signed letter of authenticity from Barnaby.

Please note, this is the original artwork by Barnaby. It is unique and not a reproduction.