Learn more about the artists, places, and themes in this exhibition.

Anthony of Padua

Military Jacket

A young Marine private waits on the beach during the Marine landing, 1965, Da Nang, Vietnam, By an unknown photographer, August 3, 1965, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the U.S. Marine Corps.

A young Marine private waits on the beach during the Marine landing, 1965, Da Nang, Vietnam, by an unknown photographer, August 3, 1965, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Musician Lenny Kravitz leaving a music session, 2014. © Lenny Kravitz, courtesy of Instagram.

Musician Lenny Kravitz leaving a music session, 2014. © Lenny Kravitz, courtesy of Instagram.

Military jackets like the one worn by the sitter in Kehinde Wiley’s Anthony of Padua are not only U.S. Army uniforms, but also high fashion pieces worn by celebrities like Lenny Kravitz. The item became popular for civilian-wear in the 1960s, when counterculture youth subversively wore army green jackets as anti-war commentary. With a young black man replacing a European saint in Wiley’s painting, the jacket’s history as a form of social commentary is amplified.