Emancipation Monument, (sculpture).

Emancipation Monument, (sculpture).

Ball, Thomas, 1819-1911, sculptor.

Babcock, O. E., architect.

Royal Foundry, founder.

Emancipation Monument, (sculpture).

Lincoln Emancipation, (sculpture).

Freedom's Memorial, (sculpture).

Modeled 1874. Cast 1875. Dedicated April 14, 1876.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: granite with bronze plaques.

Sculpture: approx. 9 x 6 x 4 ft.; Base: approx. 9 x 12 x 10 ft.

(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.

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.

Portrait male -- Lincoln, Abraham -- Full length

Occupation -- Political -- President

Occupation -- Law -- Lawyer

Portrait male -- Archer, Alexander -- Full length

Figure male -- Full length

State of Being -- Other -- Enslaved

History -- United States -- Black History

History -- United States -- Emancipation Proclamation

Ethnic -- African American

Outdoor Sculpture -- District of Columbia -- Washington

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

The head of the enslaved individual was modeled from a photograph of Archer Alexander, the last African American to be recaptured under the Fugitive Slave Act. The monument was erected by the Western Sanitary Commission of St. Louis at a cost of $18,000 which was raised solely by emancipated enslaved individuals. The idea for the monument came from Charlotte Scott, a freed slave from Virginia. She thought of the monument after hearing of Lincoln's assassination and was the first to make a contribution toward funding the piece. She contributed the first money she earned in freedom, five dollars, following the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. The sculpture was dedicated on the eleventh anniversary of Lincoln's assassination. The dedication ceremony was attended by President Grant and his cabinet and Frederick Douglass spoke. IAS files contain a excerpt from F. Lauriston Bullard's "Lincoln in Marble and Bronze," New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1952, pg. 64-72 which describes in detail the circumstances surrounding the establishment of the monument. The sculpture was so popular that a duplicate was ordered for the city of Boston in 1877 (IAS record 76008840). IAS files contain related article from the Washington Post, June 6, 1999, A8.

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.

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.

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.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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