In Harriet Tubman I helped hundreds to freedom

Object Details

Created by

Elizabeth Catlett, Mexican and American, 1915 - 2012

Subject of

Harriet Tubman, American, 1822 - 1913

Caption

I wanted to show the history and strength of all kinds of Black women. Working women, country women, great women in the history of the United States. — Elizabeth Catlett

Elizabeth Catlett was a versatile sculptor and printmaker committed to making art that promoted women, family, community, and equality. In 1946, she received a Julius Rosenwald Foundation Grant to travel and study in Mexico City. There, she worked with the Taller de Gráphica Popular (People’s Graphic Arts Workshop), a printmaking collective primarily dedicated to the production of sociopolitical art. During her stay, she completed The Negro Woman. This narrative series of prints embodies a first-person perspective of Black women, imparting a sense of intimacy and resilience as the viewer navigates a variety of images relating to resilience, heroism, and the ongoing struggle for racial justice.

Description

This black and white linocut depicts Harriet Tubman directing a group of individuals. She stands with her back to the viewer, looking over her right shoulder and down her right arm, which she points in a straight line to her right. She wears a light colored long dress with a striped hem and dark shoes. Her sleeves are rolled up past the elbows. She has a loose cap on her head and a satchel slung over her left shoulder. In the background is a group of individuals consisting of several men and a woman carrying a baby. The woman wears a long loose skirt and loose shirt. She has a loose cap or cloth on her head and carries a baby against her left shoulder. Next to the woman is a man in a loose shirt and pants. He carries a bulging sack over his right shoulder. Both the woman and the man are barefoot. Behind them are four men, two of them wearing hats. They are shown walking towards the right hand margin, in the direction of Harriet Tubman's pointing finger. There is a handwritten title below the image in pencil. It is signed by the artist on the bottom right. The back is blank.

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Winifred Hervey

1946-1947; printed 1989

Object number

2017.21.7

Restrictions & Rights

© 2020 Catlett Mora Family Trust/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

Type

linocuts

Medium

ink and graphite on paper

Dimensions

H x W (image with title): 9 3/4 × 7 1/16 in. (24.8 × 18 cm)

H x W (image): 9 1/16 × 7 1/16 in. (23 × 18 cm)

H x W (sheet): 15 1/8 × 11 1/4 in. (38.4 × 28.6 cm)

See more items in

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Portfolio/Series

The Black Woman (formerly the Negro Woman)

Classification

Visual Arts

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Topic

African American

Art

Identity

Resistance

Slavery

Women

Record ID

nmaahc_2017.21.7

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5281093bc-b1fe-457f-82a6-fae6bdafbd82