Emancipation (Boston, Massachusetts)
Dublin Core
Title
Emancipation (Boston, Massachusetts)
Subject
Subject (Topic)
Allegory (art)
Emancipation Proclamation--United States
Enslaved persons--Emancipation
Freedom
Massachusetts--Boston
Public art
Public sculpture
Allegory (art)
Emancipation Proclamation--United States
Enslaved persons--Emancipation
Freedom
Massachusetts--Boston
Public art
Public sculpture
Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture
Commemorative sculpture
Description
Originally created in 1913 for the National Emancipation Exposition in New York City, the multi-figure sculpture is anchored around a truncated tree that reaches over the heads of the three human figures. The tree is roughly realized, and Fuller’s hand is evident in the surface treatment. At the center of the composition, a young woman and man stand upright and are seminude. The couple emerge from the “Tree of Knowledge.” Behind the male figure, the female figure of “Humanity,” clothed in a gown, bows her head and rests it on her raised left arm. She gently rests her right hand on the young man’s shoulder. The bronze cast was made in 1999.
Two inscriptions were added to granite base of the monument in 2013.
Two inscriptions were added to granite base of the monument in 2013.
Creator
Fuller, Meta Warrick, 1877-1968
Source
Photograph by Renée Ater
Date
June 20, 1999
Contributor
CBA Landscape Architects, Boston, Massachusetts; United South End Settlements, Boston, Massachusetts; New England Foundation for the Arts, Boston, Massachusetts; The George B. Henderson Foundation and The Edgar Ingersoll Browne Fund, Boston, Massachusetts; and Boston Parks and Recreation
Rights
National Center of Afro-American Artists, 300 Walnut Street, Roxbury, Massachusetts, United States and The Museum of Afro-American History, 46 Joy Street, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Format
JPEG
Language
English
Type
Visual Arts-Sculpture
Coverage
Harriet Tubman Park, Columbus Avenue and Pembrook Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 02116, United States
Date Created
1913
Has Part
Inscription on granite base (1999):
Emancipation, 1913. In honor of African American freed persons who by their courage and valor gave
meaning to emancipation. Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, (1877-1968) sculptor. Courtesy of The Museum of the National Center for Afro-American Artists and the
Museum of Afro-American History.
Emancipation, 1913. In honor of African American freed persons who by their courage and valor gave
meaning to emancipation. Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, (1877-1968) sculptor. Courtesy of The Museum of the National Center for Afro-American Artists and the
Museum of Afro-American History.
Inscription on granite base (2013):
“Humanity weeping over her suddenly freed children who beneath the gnarled fingers of Fate, step forth into the world, unafraid.” Meta Warrick Fuller
“Humanity weeping over her suddenly freed children who beneath the gnarled fingers of Fate, step forth into the world, unafraid.” Meta Warrick Fuller
Inscription on granite base (2013):
“The Negro has been emancipated from slavery but not from the curse of race hatred and prejudice. . . It was not Lincoln alone who wrote the Emancipation but the humane side of the nation . . .” Meta Warrick Fuller
“The Negro has been emancipated from slavery but not from the curse of race hatred and prejudice. . . It was not Lincoln alone who wrote the Emancipation but the humane side of the nation . . .” Meta Warrick Fuller
Extent
84 in. (213.36 cm)
Medium
Bronze; Pink granite
Bibliographic Citation
Ater, Renée. Remaking Race and History: The Sculpture of Meta Warrick Fuller. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011.
Rights Holder
Renée Ater
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Sculpture
Physical Dimensions
84 in. (213.36 cm)
Collection
Citation
Fuller, Meta Warrick, 1877-1968, “Emancipation (Boston, Massachusetts),” Contemporary Monuments to the Slave Past, accessed October 1, 2026, https://slaverymonuments.org/items/show/1121.