Administered by United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Washington District of Columbia
Located Lincoln Park East Capitol & 11th Streets, N.E Washington District of Columbia
Date:
Modeled 1874. Cast 1875. Dedicated April 14, 1876
Notes:
Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.
Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, pg. 86.
Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey, 1993.
Michael Richman, SAAM curatorial assistant, 1967-1969.
SOS Conservation Treatment Award, 1998.
Goode, James M., "Washington Sculpture: A Cultural History of Outdoor Sculpture in the Nation's Capitol," Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, no. 1.38.
Image on file.
Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, A-37.
Goode, James M., "Washington Sculpture: A Cultural History of Outdoor Sculpture in the Nation's Capitol," Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, no. 1.38.
(Side of sculpture, near base:) THOMAS BALL Sc. 1874 (Back of sculpture near base:) FERD. MILLER jun./FUDIT/MUCHEN 1875 (Bronze plaque on front of base:) FREEDOM'S MEMORIAL/IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN/THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED/BY THE WASHINGTON SANITARY COMMISSION/OF SAINT LOUIS MO./WITH FUNDS CONTRIBUTED SOLELY BY/EMANCIPATED CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES/DECLARED FREE BY HIS PROCLAMATION/JANUARY 1ST A.D. 1863./THE FIRST CONTRIBUTION OF FIVE DOLLARS WAS MADE/BY CHARLOTTE SCOTT A FREED WOMAN OF VIRGINIA/BEING HER FIRST EARNINGS IN FREEDOM/AND CONSECRATED/BY HER SUGGESTION AND REQUEST/ON THE DAY SHE HEARD OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S DEATH/TO BUILD A MONUMENT TO HIS MEMORY (Bronze plaque on back of base:) AND UPON THIS ACT/SINCERELY BELIEVED TO BE AN ACT OF JUSTICE/WARRANTED BY THIS CONSTITUTION/UPON MILITARY NECESSITY/I INVOKE/THE CONSIDERATE JUDGEMENT OF MANKIND/AND/THE GRACIOUS FAVOR OF ALL MIGHTY GOD/A. LINCOLN EMANCIPATION/PROCLAMATION JANY.1.1863/WESTERN SANITARY COMMISSION/JAMES E. YEATMAN PRESIDENT./C.S. CREELEY TREAS:/GEO. PARTRIDGE . DR. J. B. JOHNSON./WMC. ELIOT. signed Founder's mark appears.
The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.
Summary:
A standing portrait of Abraham Lincoln with his proper left hand extended over the head of a freed African American enslaved individual kneeling in front of him. Beside the freed African American enslaved individual are the symbols of slavery, a whipping post, chains, fetters, and a frayed whip. Behind the figures there is a draped tree stump adorned with a rose vine that symbolizes the end of slavery. In his proper right hand, Lincoln holds a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation. Next to Lincoln is a short podium adorned with a profile portrait of George Washington's head.