Accession Number
1885.3

Title
Lincoln and the Emancipated Slave

Artist(s)
Randolph Rogers

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
circa 1866

Medium & Support
painted plaster

Dimensions
21 1/4 in x 14 3/16 in x 7 7/8 in (53.98 cm x 36.04 cm x 20 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Randolph Rogers

Subject matter
At the end of the Civil War (1861–65) there was an effort to promote an American Renaissance and to beautify cities with civic monuments and public sculpture. Sculptors, including Randolph Rogers, were commissioned to produce memorials that addressed themes of war and slavery and to commemorate military heroes, from the common soldier to President Abraham Lincoln himself.
This plaster cast was a maquette for a Civil War monument* and depicts Abraham Lincoln as the “Great Emancipator” freeing a slave, establishing a narrative of theoretical peace and unity.

Physical Description
Plaster sculpture of a standing male figure, his right hand resting upon a small column and his left hand holding the arm of a crouching African American female figure.

Primary Object Classification
Sculpture

Collection Area
Western

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
groups
kneeling
sculpture (visual works)
slaves (people)
standing
stone