In 1971, one of Georgetown’s Henry Mosler paintings, Ring, Ring for Liberty disappeared. Only its frame remained.
“‘Ring, Ring for Liberty’ depicts the ringing of the Liberty Bell in Independence Hall in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. It represents a moment that signified the signing of the Declaration of Independence and therefore the birth of the United States.”
Historians suspect that the painting was damaged during the May Day protests of the Vietnam War, which resulted in police using tear gas on Georgetown’s campus that year. Records show that the Jesuit priest presiding over the Ryan Hall where the painting was hanging notified Georgetown’s Curating Department about damage to the painting, but no one knows where the painting went next.
Students in CCT’s Media Production course made a documentary about the disappearance.
Ring Ring for Liberty from j.r. osborn on Vimeo.