Drawing Justice

Elizabeth Williams. Artists at the DeLoren [sic] Trial, August 16, 1984.
Porous point pen. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

After the press circus that occurred during the Lindbergh baby kidnapping trial in 1935, photography and radio were banned in federal courts; media outlets relied on artists' depictions to give viewers a visual sense of the proceedings. Drawing Justice: The Art of Courtroom Illustration is an online exhibition that showcases the Library of Congress collections of original art by courtroom artists dating from 1964 to the present day. Skilled at quickly conveying both individual likenesses and the atmosphere of the courtroom, these artists reveal, in intimate detail, the dramatic and, at times, mundane aspects of trial proceedings.

Via