Warhead I (Reagan 55%, Brezhnev 45%, Thatcher less than 1%, Mitterand less than 1%, Deng less than 1%) America, 20th century

Warhead I (Reagan 55%, Brezhnev 45%, Thatcher less than 1%, Mitterand less than 1%, Deng less than 1%)

1982, printed 1999

Nancy Burson

(American, b. 1948)

America, 20th century

gelatin silver print

Image: 19.1 x 18.9 cm (7 1/2 x 7 7/16 in.); Framed: 46.3 x 46.5 cm (18 1/4 x 18 5/16 in.)

The Jane B. Tripp Charitable Lead Annuity Trust 2020.74

Edition: 7/15

Location: not on view

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Did You Know?

In 1980, it was estimated that there were 40,000 nuclear warheads (the front parts of guided missiles or torpedoes that are carrying a nuclear charge).

Description

This image puts a human face—one composited from the leaders of the nuclear powers at the time—on the threat in the early 1980s of nuclear warfare. Ronald Reagan and Leonid Brezhnev’s faces dominate because the dominance of each leader was “weighted by the number of nuclear warheads deployable by each country.”