Frederick Douglass Monument, (sculpture).

Frederick Douglass Monument, (sculpture).

Edwards, Sidney W., sculptor.

Smith Granite Company, fabricator.

Frederick Douglass Monument, (sculpture).

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: grey-tan granite.

Sculpture: approx. H. 8 ft. 1 in. x Diam. 30 in.; Base: approx. H. 9 ft. x W. 66 in.

(Rear of base): SMITH GRANITE CO./WESTERLY, RI (Plaque on side of base:) I KNOW OF NO SOIL BETTER/ADAPTED TO THE GROWTH OF/REFORM THAN AMERICAN SOIL/I KNOW OF NO COUNTRY./WHERE THE CONDITIONS FOR/EFFECTING GREAT CHANGES/IN THE SETTLED ORDER OF/THINGS, FOR THE DEVELOPMENT/OF RIGHT IDEAS OF LIBERTY/AND HUMANITY ARE MORE/FAVORABLE THAN HERE IN/THESE UNITED STATES."/EXTRACT FROM SPEECH ON/DRED SCOTT DECISION, DELIVERED/IN NEW YORK, MAY 1857. (Plaque on rear of base:) "THE BEST DEFENCE OF FREE/AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS IS/THE HEARTS OF THE AMERICAN/PEOPLE THEMSELVES."/"ONE WITH GOD IS A MAJORITY"/"I KNOW OF NO RIGHTS OF RACE/SUPERIOR TO THE RIGHTS OF/HUMANITY."

(Plaque on other side of base:) "MEN DO NOT LIVE BY BREAD/ALONE; SO WITH NATIONS, THEY/ARE NOT SAVED BY ART, BUT BY/HONESTY; NOT BY THE GILDED/SPLENDORS OF WEALTH BUT BY/THE HIDDEN TREASURE OF/MANLY VIRTUE; NOT BY THE/MULTITUDINOUS GRATIFICATION/OF THE FLESH, BUT BY/THE CELESTIAL GUIDANCE/OF THE SPIRIT."/EXTRACT FROM THE SPEECH ON/THE WEST INDIA EMANCIPATION,/DELIVERED AT CANADAIGUA, N.Y./AUGUST 4, 1857 Founder's mark appears.

A full-length portrait of Frederick Douglass, his hands outstretched, palms upward. He has a beard and moustache and wears a greatcoat, bow tie, and vest with watch chain. He steps forward with his proper right foot forward, with his toe extending beyond the bronze base. The sculpture is mounted on a cylindrical granite drum with four commemorative bronze plaques encircling the drum. The drum sits on an octagonal base, atop a block base.

Portrait male -- Douglass, Frederick -- Full length

Ethnic -- African American

Occupation -- Other -- Reformer

Occupation -- Writer -- Journalist

Outdoor Sculpture -- New York -- Rochester

Coadministered by City of Rochester, Rochester, New York

Coadministered by Monroe County Parks Commission, 171 Reservoir Avenue, Rochester, New York 14620

Located Highland Park, Frederick Douglass Memorial Square, South Avenue & Rubinson Drive, Rochester, New York

The monument commemorates reformer Frederick Douglass. It was formerly located in downtown Rochester and the 1994 SOS! survey reports it was moved to its present location (near the site of Douglass' home) more than thirty years ago. Plaque text includes excerpt from a speech Douglass made on the Dred Scott decision in New York in May, 1857; and his speech on the West Indiana emancipation, delivered at Canadaigua, New York, on Aug. 4, 1857.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, New York survey, 1994.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, NY0292, 1989.

Monumental News, Sept., 1910, pg. 664.

Monumental News, Sept., 1910, pg. 664.

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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