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Emancipation Group

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Emancipation Group

1873 - 1873
19th
45.5 in. x 27.56 in. x 21.25 in. (115.57 cm x 70.01 cm x 53.98 cm)

Thomas Ball, (1819–1911)

User Text 1 Thomas Ball composed this statue commemorating the Emancipation Proclamation following President Lincoln’s assassination. The sculpture represents Lincoln magically breaking the chains of bondage with his raised hand. The scroll in the president’s other hand represents the Proclamation. In contrast to the heroic portrayal of Lincoln, the nude Black man crouches in an inferior position. He is not an individual, but a racial type representing all formerly enslaved people. The sculpture characterizes Black freedom as an act of white power, given to a figure who remains on the ground, unable to free himself. It affirms an unequal relationship between Black and white Americans even as it celebrates emancipation. Ball later revised the composition and modeled the kneeling man’s face after a photograph of Archer Alexander, a formerly enslaved man. Larger versions of the revised statue were erected as bronze monuments in Washington, DC, and Boston. The city removed the latter in 2020. In 2021, the Chazen partnered with the MASK Consortium and artist Sanford Biggers to interpret Emancipation Group for contemporary America. Learn more about the ongoing re:mancipation project at remancipation.org.
Creation Place: North America, United States
Medium and Support: White Italian marble
Credit Line: Gift of Dr. Warren E. Gilson
Accession Number: 1976.157
Current Location: Chazen : Gallery : 20

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  • Overall Dimensions: 45.5 in. x 27.56 in. x 21.25 in. (115.57 cm x 70.01 cm x 53.98 cm)

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