A member of the 369th Infantry in World War I--a famed African American division--Horace Pippin became an artist despite a wound that partially paralyzed his right arm. Self-taught, he drew subject matter from his life, history, and the Bible.

In Holy Mountain III, painted in response to World War II, he chose a black shepherd to serve as the redemptive figure--traditionally interpreted by Christians as Christ--prophesied in Isaiah 11:6-9. Though his peaceable kingdom contains reminders of war, Pippin was convinced of the truth of the prophecy.

Courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966.