<em>Prairie Boat</em> (Chicago, Illinois)
Subject (Topic) <br />African Americans--Chicago (Ill.)<br />Chicago (Ill.)--History<br />American Midwest<br />Public art <br />Public sculpture<br />Underground Railroad
The design of this 40 foot-long gathering space connects the African American Water Trail, the natural spaces of Beaubien Woods on the Far South Side of Chicago, and the Little Calumet River. The space marks the beginning of the Trail, which contains Underground Railroad sites. The boat design is a reference to the journeys undertaken by those travelers on Chicago’s Underground Railroad along the river. The blue log path inside the gathering space and the columned portal that it leads to also represent journeys—their entries and exits. Furthermore, the portal itself is an entryway to another path, a natural one in the Forest Preserves, again symbolizing a way out of bondage and toward freedom.
Perri, Christine (designer and sculptor), 1953-
Photographs by Christine Perri
Dedicated: June 10, 2023
Roman Villarreal (sculptor, animal seats and log/concrete benches); Patrick Thompson (painter, <em>Heroes</em>); Jittaun Priest (painter, <em>Past, Present, Future</em>); Osei Agyeman-Badu (painter, <em>Underground Railroad Quilts</em>); Kadija Stallings (painter, <em>Slavery and Ancestry</em>); Ajiah Gilbert (log path painter); Leslie Leon-Aguilar (log path painter); Maybelline Mariscal (log path painter); Craig Klucina of Plane-Spoken Furniture (prow, portal roof); Greencorps Chicago (landscaper); Juliette Tyson, Mission Coordinator, Imani Village, (community partner); Imani Village (project partner); Field Museum of Natural History (project partner); Openlands (project partner); Forest Preserves of Cook County (project partner); Far South Chicago Coalition (project partner); Walder Foundation (funder); Illinois Department of Natural Resources (funder); Coastal Management Program (funder); and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce) (funder).
Forest Preserves of Cook County, 536 North Harlem Avenue, River Forest, Illinois, 60305, United States
JPEG
English
Visual Arts-Sculpture
Beaubien Woods Forest Preserve, W Doty Ave S, southeast of E 130th St & S Ellis Ave, Chicago, Illinois, 60633, United States
<em>Freedmen's Memorial to Abraham Lincoln</em> (Washington, DC)
Subject (Topic) <br />Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 <br />Enslaved persons-Emancipation-United States <br />Public art <br />Public sculpture <br />United States President (1861-1865 : Lincoln) Emancipation Proclamation
From <a href="https://www.reneeater.com/on-monuments-blog/2020/7/1/on-the-removal-of-statues-freedmens-memorial-to-abraham-lincoln">"On the Removal of Statues"</a>: Ball’s composition includes two figures, one fully clothed, the other semi-nude. Due to the dozens of photographs that survive from the 1860s, we recognize that the standing bearded man is Abraham Lincoln. Dressed in a shirt with tie, a long coat, and trousers, Lincoln stands upright with most of his weight on one leg, in "contrapposto." Clothing and posture civilize Lincoln, marking his intelligence and morality. The kneeling man, a newly emancipated enslaved person, is semi-nude. The only article of clothing that he wears is a piece of cloth draped from his waist to the edge of his buttocks. The sinewy muscles are clearly delineated in the man’s arms, legs, and abdominal muscles. Modeled with short curly hair, the former slave is also shown with a distinctive broad nose, signifying his African ancestry. We know from the historical record that former slave Archer Alexander was “the model” for the freedman."
Ball, Thomas, 1819-1911
Photograph by Renee Ater.
Dedicated: April 1876
JPEG
English
Visual Arts- Sculpture
<em>North to Freedom </em>(<span>Brewer, Maine)</span>
Subject (Topic)<br />Abolitionists--United States<br />Antislavery movements--United States<br />Fugitive slaves--United States<br />Northeastern United States<br />Public art<br />Public sculpture<br />Underground Railroad
<p></p>
<span>Subject (Object Type)</span><br /><span>Commemorative sculpture</span>
The statue depicts a male freedom seeker from the waist up. His head is turned to his right shoulder, looking back toward the south and leaning to the north as he presses down with his hands on a stone circle to hoist himself out of an underground tunnel to freedom.
<p>Hines, Glenn M., 1950-</p>
<p></p>
Hines, Diane, 1951-
Photograph by Renee Ater.
2002
Brewer Historical Society; Dick Campbell (landscape design); and Brian Higgins (historic interpretation).
Brewer Historical Society, P.O. Box 602, Brewer, Maine 04412
JPEG
English
Visual Arts- Sculpture
<span>Chamberlain Freedom Park, </span>12 State Street, Brewer, Maine, 04412, United States<br />
<div class="Uekwlc QzqPSc">
<div class="pBr83e"></div>
</div>
<em>Lorain Underground Station 100 Monument</em> (Lorain, Ohio)
Subject (Topic)<br />Abolitionists--United States<br />Antislavery movements--United States<br />Fugitive slaves--United States<br />Midwestern United States<br />Public art<br />Public sculpture<br />Underground Railroad
<p></p>
<span>Subject (Object Type)</span><br /><span>Commemorative sculpture</span>
A low relief that depicts three freedom seekers against the map of Ohio: a father, mother, and young boy. The male figure is show in profile wearing a soft brimmed hat, holding a walking cane, and dressed in simple shirt and pants with worn shoes ( a hole is visible). The woman is between the man and young boy, holding both of their hands. She is wearing a head wrap, simple top and skirt, and a shawl on around her shoulders. Like the young boy, she is barefoot. With short hair, the young boy wears a button shirt with rolled up pants. Over his shoulder is a small sack.
Unknown
Photographs from <a href="https://visitloraincnty.blogspot.com/2011/03/itinerary-lorain-county-history.html">Visit Lorain County Blog</a>.
2006?
National Council of Negro Women, Lorain County Section; the Lorain Club of the National Association of Negro Business & Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc.; the Lorain County Urban League; and The Ohio Historical Society.
Lorain County Government, 226 Middle Avenue, Elyria, Ohio 44035
JPEG
English
Visual Arts-Sculpture
Black River Landing, 421 Black River Lane, Lorain, Ohio, 44052, United States
<em>Underground Railroad Sculpture</em> (Oberlin, OH)
Subject (Topic)<br />Abolitionists--United States<br />Antislavery movements--United States<br />Fugitive slaves--United States<br />Midwestern United States<br />Public art<br />Public sculpture<br />Underground Railroad
<p></p>
Subject (Object Type) <br />Commemorative sculpture
Railroad tracks emerge from the ground, reaching upward. This sculpture commemorates Oberlin's role in the Underground Railroad. Cameron Armstrong (then a senior at Oberlin College) created the sculpture in 1977 as part of a class art project.
Armstrong, Cameron, 1956-
Photograph from <a href="https://www.oberlin.edu/underground-railroad-sculpture" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oberlin College</a>.
1977
The Oberlin Class of 1977.
Oberlin College, 38 E. College Street, Oberlin, Ohio, 44074
JPEG
English
Visual Arts-Sculpture
Talcott Hall, 2 S. Professor Street, Oberlin, Ohio, 44074, United States
<em>Dred and Harriet Scott</em> (St. Louis, MO)
Subject (Topic)<br />Abolitionists--United States <br />Antislavery movements--United States<br />Public art <br />Public sculpture<br />Slavery-Emancipation
<p></p>
Subject (Name)<br />Scott, Dred, 1799-1858<br />Scott, Harriet, 1815-1876
<p></p>
Subject (Object Type) <br />Commemorative sculpture
A figurative statue of Dred and Harriet Scott. Dred Scott wears a suit with tie. He reaches his left arm behind Harriet Scott, embracing her; they also hold hands. Harriet Scott wears a full-length dress and turns her head upward.
Weber, Harry, 1942-
Photograph from <a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q75117035" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WikiData</a>.
Dedicated: June 8, 2012
Dred Scott Heritage Foundation and National Park Service.
Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis (RAC), 6128 Delmar Boulevard, St. Louis, Ohio 63112
JPEG
English
Visual Arts-Sculpture
Old Courthouse, 11 N. 4th Street, St. Louis, Missouri, 63102, United States
<em>The Whitney Plantation Museum </em>(<span>Wallace, Louisiana)</span>
Subject (Topic) <br />Dwellings--Louisiana<br />Plantations--Louisiana<br />Slavery<br />Sugar--Social aspects--History<br />United States--Louisiana--St. John the Baptist Parish--Wallace
<p></p>
Subject (Object Type)<br />History Museums
Dedicated to the history of enslavement in the Southern United States, the Whitney Plantation is sited on the grounds where enslaved people labored in bondage for over 100 years. The museum is comprised of twelve historic structures. A number of memorials are also located on grounds, including a series of granite walls engraved with the names of the 107,000 the enslaved who spent their lives in Louisiana before 1820.
Museum founder: Cummings, John, 1938-
Photographs by Renée Ater
Opened as a museum: December 7, 2014
The Whitney Plantation, 5099 Louisiana Highway 19, Edgard, Louisiana, 70449
<a href="https://www.whitneyplantation.org/history/plantation-owners/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Whitney Plantation</a>
JPEG
English
Building and Structures
5099 Louisiana Highway 19, Edgard, Louisiana, 70449, United States
<em>Henry "Box" Brown Memorial </em>(Richmond, Virginia)
Subject (Topic)<br />Abolitionists--United States <br />Antislavery movements--United States<br />Mid-Atlantic United States<br />Public art <br />Public sculpture <br />Slavery--Emancipation
<p></p>
Subject (Name)<br />Brown, Henry "Box," 1816-1897
<p></p>
Subject (Object Type) <br />Commemorative sculpture
The memorial commemorates Henry "Box" Brown's harrowing journey to freedom. On March 23, 1849, with the assistance of James Caesar Anthony Smith, a freedman and white abolitionist, Samuel Alexander Smith, Brown shipped himself in a two-by-three-foot crate marked "dried goods" from Richmond to Philadelphia. Brown would later become a well-known antislavery activist, attempting to assist other enslaved people to escape in crates.<br /><br />The memorial includes a bronze crate meant to resemble the wooden one that Brown used. The crate is open and an outline of a crouching human figure is inscribed on the back panel of the box. An informational placard is sited near the sculpture, which details the history of slavery in Richmond and Brown's escape.
Unknown
Photographs by Renée Ater
2001
City of Richmond, Richmond City Council Slave Trade Commission, and Venture Richmond.
City of Richmond, 900 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, 23219
<a href="https://www.pbs.org/black-culture/shows/list/underground-railroad/stories-freedom/henry-box-brown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Henry "Box" Brown</a>
JPEG
English
Visual Arts-Sculpture
Box Brown Plaza, 1498 Dock Street, Richmond, Virginia, 23219, United States
<em>Spirit of Freedom</em> (<span>Hamilton, Bermuda)</span>
Subject (Topic) <br />Hamilton (Bermuda Islands)--History<br />Slavery--Bermuda Islands<br />Middle Passage<br />Transatlantic Slave Trade <br />Slave Trade <br />Resistance
<p></p>
Subject (Name) <br />Sarah (Sally) Bassett, d. 1730
<p></p>
Subject (Object Type) <br />Commemorative sculpture
In 1730, the colonial government of Bermuda executed Sarah Bassett, an enslaved woman, for allegedly attempting to poison her granddaughter’s enslavers. In <em>Spirit of Freedom</em>, she is shown with her hand and feet bound, as she gazes defiantly upward.
Dowling, Carlos
Photograph from <a href="http://45.55.106.148/uploads/monument-lab/originals/e0649d62-f34a-4784-96bf-522e90dcda91.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Monument Lab</a>
Dedicated: February 9, 2009
JPEG
English
Visual Arts-Sculpture
The Cabinet Building, 105 Front Street, Hamilton, Bermuda
<em>Camp Barker Memorial</em> (Washington, DC)
Subject (Topic)<br />Civil War <br /><span>Refugee camps--History--19th century</span><br />Fugitive slaves--United States<br />Slaves--Emancipation--United States<br />Public art <br />Public sculpture<br />Mid-Atlantic United States
<p></p>
Subject (Object Type) <br />Commemorative sculpture
"The Camp Barker Memorial frames the site’s history as Camp Barker, a Civil War ‘contraband camp’, with three entry gateways to a public elementary school in northwest Washington D.C. Union forces used the term contraband to describe formerly enslaved persons, who were considered captured enemy property. While the site’s original buildings were built as barracks for Union soldiers, they were soon transformed into housing for those escaping slavery. Living conditions in the camp were harsh, but gave rise to the enduring community of the surrounding neighborhood." From <a href="https://after-architecture.com/campbarkermemorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">After Architecture</a>, 2019.
McDonald, Katie<br /><a href="https://after-architecture.com/office" target="_blank" rel="noopener">After Architecture</a>
<p></p>
Schumann, Kyle<br /><a href="https://after-architecture.com/office" target="_blank" rel="noopener">After Architecture</a>
Photographs by Renée Ater
Dedicated: May 2019
Vinnie Bagwell (relief sculpture); Yun Associates, LLC (structural engineering); and Garrison Elementery School (DC Public Schools).
DC Public Schools, 1200 First Street, NE, Washington, DC, 20002
JPEG
English
Buildings and Structures
1200 S Street NW, Washington, DC, 20009, United States