Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
Julie Green, who painted plates with the last meals of death row inmates, has died
Julie Green's <em>The Last Supper</em> is currently on view at the Bellevue Arts Museum in Bellevue, Wash. There are 800 plates in the exhibit.
Julie Green, an artist known for painting the last meals of death row inmates on hundreds of plates over several decades, died earlier this month. Green was 60.
Green gained notoriety for an ongoing project, entitled The Last Supper, which consisted of hundreds of plates painted with the last meals requested by U.S. prisoners who were scheduled to be executed.
Among the dishes inmates asked for: a stuffed-crust meat lover's pizza, an apple pie, shrimp, ice cream, a Coke.
Green, who was an art professor at Oregon State University, got the idea for the project years ago after reading about the last meals requested by inmates in an Oklahoma newspaper.
Julie Green's <em>The Last Supper</em> is currently on view at the Bellevue Arts Museum in Bellevue, WA, with 800 plates in the exhibit.
(
/ Emilie Smith, Bellevue Arts Museum
)
"For me, a final meal request humanizes death row," Green said in a 2020 statement posted on the Bellevue Arts Museum's website. "Menus provide clues on region, race and economic background."
The Last Supper is currently on view at the museum in Bellevue, Wash., with 800 plates in the exhibit. Green intended to paint 1,000 plates if capital punishment wasn't outlawed.
Sponsored message
Green later started a related project called First Meal, painting what inmates who were exonerated and released from prison ate for their first meal after being released.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDA1OTI3MjQ5MDEyODUwMTE2MzM1YzNmZA004))
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
