Missing in Action
- Artist: Guerrilla Girls
- Date: 1991
- Medium: Lithograph on paper
- Dimensions: support: 432 x 557 mm
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the “Missing in Action” by Guerrilla Girls, a 1991 lithograph on paper measuring roughly 43 by 56 centimeters. The piece sits within a broader portfolio of 54 posters that the anonymous collective produced from 1991 to 2012, aimed at exposing inequalities in the art world and beyond. In typical Guerrilla Girls fashion, the work combines stark statistics with bold black‑and‑white graphics and a dose of irony. The title alludes to the idea that many artists—particularly women and people of colour—remain unseen or overlooked in mainstream institutions. By using the simple, eye‑catching format of a street poster, the Guerrilla Girls cut through institutional gatekeeping and deliver a direct, unapologetic critique. The collective, known for wearing gorilla masks to hide identity, has long used humor and factual data to challenge both gender and racial discrimination, and to question deeper societal injustices. This lithograph is a vivid reminder that visibility matters.
See it in person
Missing in Action is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
