Accession Number
1895.13

Title
Emancipation Group

Artist(s)
Thomas Ball

Object Creation Date
1865

Medium & Support
bronze

Dimensions
32 15/16 in x 21 15/16 in x 16 5/8 in (83.66 cm x 55.72 cm x 42.23 cm)

Credit Line
Bequest of Henry C. Lewis

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 work is a maquette for the Emancipation Memorial in Washington D.C.’s Lincoln Park, which depicts Abraham Lincoln as the “Great Emancipator” freeing a slave, establishing a narrative of theoretical peace and unity.

Physical Description
Bronze sculpture of a standing male figure his right hand holding a shield which rests upon a stack of book while his left arm is outstretched hovering over the crouching figure of an African American male figure.

Primary Object Classification
Sculpture

Collection Area
Western

Rights
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Keywords
book
books
pedestal
sculpture
sculpture (visual works)
shield
shields (armor)
slaves (people)