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Lincoln and the Emancipated Slave

Randolph Rogers

Artwork Details

Lincoln and the Emancipated Slave
circa 1866
Randolph Rogers
painted plaster
21 1/4 in x 14 3/16 in x 7 7/8 in (53.98 cm x 36.04 cm x 20 cm)
Gift of Randolph Rogers
1885.3

Description

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.

Usage Rights:

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