This record is made available under an Universal 1.0 Public Domain Dedication Creative Commons license.
This collection is open for research.
This collection was a purchase from Monroe Gallery by the Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia Library on 22 May 2025.
MSS 16926, Sanjay Suchak photographs, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.
The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Some groups chanted racist and antisemitic slogans and carried weapons. The organizers' stated goals included the unification of the American white nationalist movement and opposing the proposed removal of the statue of General Robert E. Lee from Charlottesville's former Lee Park. The rally sparked a national debate over Confederate iconography, racial violence, and white supremacy. The event had hundreds of participants.
This collection contains fifteen prints from photographer Sanjay Suchak, based in Charlottesville, Virginia, and Los Angeles, California. The collection includes fifteen archival pigment prints documenting the removal of Confederate monuments in Charlottesville and Richmond that took place in the summer of 2020 and in 2021.
The prints are signed, numbered limited editions measuring 17" X 22". These include: 1. August 12, 2017 - Charlottesville, VA Members of the Unite the Right protest confront counter protesters in front of the Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, VA.
2. The Graduate - Robert E. Lee Statue, Richmond, VA .
3. Lee Overhead - Richmond, VA .
4. The First Removal- (Removing Jackson) Richmond, VA.
5. Under The Watchful Eye - Richmond, VA .
6. Removal of "Vindicatrix," also known as "Miss Confederacy", from the Jefferson Davis monument, Richmond, VA.
7. The Statue of Robert E. Lee is seen as a flatbed truck pulls away from the park carrying the statue.
8. A worker's notations on the Charlottesville statue of Stonewall Jackson.
9. Pieces of the Pedestal of Robert E. Lee sit on pallets in an undisclosed location in Richmond, VA.
10. The George Rogers Clark statue from the University of Virginia sits in a university owned storage site, facing the wall, away from prying eyes.
11. Devon Henry, the contractor who accepted the role of removing the statues stands among the remains of the Richmond statues.
12. Charlottesville's two monuments sit in city storage before they were moved. Lee to be melted down and Jackson to California for an exhibit.
13. A foundry worker holds the face of Charlottesville's Robert E. Lee statue. Scored for breaking, it was shortly melted down.
14. All of the Monument Avenue statues are seen in a row, stored in an undisclosed location (diptych/2 prints).
15. A foundry worker holds the sword of Robert E. Lee shortly before it is melted down.
Sanjay Suchak is an American photographer and director known for his work with popular musical artists, global brands and documenting issues of modern social justice.
His camera has taken him around the world as the photographer for the Dave Matthews Band and Public Enemy as well as the video director for Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats. Additionally he has toured with Slightly Stoopid, The Grateful Dead and Trey Anastasio.
His work from 2017-2024 covering the efforts to remove Confederate statues and memorials in the South is considered by many to be the most comprehensive look inside the process process to remove the statues. The project concluded with him being granted permission to document the melting of the Charlottesville statue of Robert E. Lee. These photos and all his photojournalism work are represented exclusively by the Monroe Gallery of Photography in Santa Fe, NM.
He has done commercial commissions for clients ranging from banks to universities to nonprofits.
Sanjay is a former Fellow in Democracy at the Karsh Institute of Democracy at the University of Virginia.
He is a proud member of Diversify Photo.
His work resides in many private collections as well as that of the Spencer Museum of Art, The Museum of Contemporary Art - Los Angeles, The University of Virginia - Special Collections, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and others.
Press: Capturing The Moment - Episode 1 - Sanjay Suchak - PBS Dave Matthews Band photographer Sanjay Suchak's path from government work to a career in the arts - VPM How Dave Matthews Band Tour Photographer Sanjay Suchak Meshes His Two Loves - The Creative Factor Creatives & Coffee: How to Take a Great Portrait (in 5 Minutes or Less) Dedicated to the 'Story Behind the Story' Life on and off the road with Dave Matthews Band tour photographer Sanjay Suchak A Day In The Life Of A Music Photographer On Tour
Sanjay is based in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Contact: email: sanjaysuchak@gmail.com
Source: Sanjay Suchak website: https://www.sanjaysuchak.com/bio
1. August 12, 2017 - Charlottesville, VA Members of the Unite the Right protest confront counter protesters in front of the Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, VA.
2. The Graduate - Robert E. Lee Statue, Richmond, VA .
3. Lee Overhead - Richmond, VA .
4. The First Removal- (Removing Jackson) Richmond, VA.
5. Under The Watchful Eye - Richmond, VA .
6. Removal of "Vindicatrix," also known as "Miss Confederacy", from the Jefferson Davis monument, Richmond, VA.
7. The Statue of Robert E. Lee is seen as a flatbed truck pulls away from the park carrying the statue.
8. A worker's notations on the Charlottesville statue of Stonewall Jackson.
9. Pieces of the Pedestal of Robert E. Lee sit on pallets in an undisclosed location in Richmond, VA.
10. The George Rogers Clark statue from the University of Virginia sits in a university owned storage site, facing the wall, away from prying eyes.
11. Devon Henry, the contractor who accepted the role of removing the statues stands among the remains of the Richmond statues.
12. Charlottesville's two monuments sit in city storage before they were moved. Lee to be melted down and Jackson to California for an exhibit.
13. A foundry worker holds the face of Charlottesville's Robert E. Lee statue. Scored for breaking, it was shortly melted down.
14. All of the Monument Avenue statues are seen in a row, stored in an undisclosed location (diptych/2 prints).
15. A foundry worker holds the sword of Robert E. Lee shortly before it is melted down.