Edmonson Sisters Memorial (Alexandria, Virginia)

Photograph of the Edmonson Sisters Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia, shows the two sisters emerging from a large boulder.

Photograph of Edmonson Sisters Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia, close up portrait of Emily Edmonson (1835-1895).

Photograph of the Edmonson Sisters Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia, close up portrait of Mary Edmonson (1832-1853).

Photograph of the Edmonson Sisters Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia, detail of the two sisters holding hands.

Photograph of the back of the Edmonson Sisters Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia, with a ship engraved into the bronze and the words "Pearl."

Embedded bronze plaque on the side of the Edmondson Sisters Memorial with the name of the sculptor, Eric Blome.

Dublin Core

Title

Edmonson Sisters Memorial (Alexandria, Virginia)

Subject

Subject (Topic)
Antislavery movements--United States
Enslaved persons--Emancipation
Freedom
Public art
Public sculpture
Resistance
Slavery--Virginia
Transatlantic slave trade
Virginia--Alexandria

Subject (Name)
Edmonson, Mary, 1832–1853
Edmonson, Emily, 1835–1895

Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture

Description

Two young women emerge from a large rocky outcrop, their hands clasped tightly as they stride forward. The over life-sized work depicts the abolitionists and former enslaved sisters, Mary and Emily Edmonson. The statue is located on the site of the former Joseph Bruin’s slave jail, where the sisters were held after a failed attempt to escape from Washington, DC in 1848 on the ship Pearl. On the back of the sculpture is an etching of the ship and the word "Pearl."

Creator

Blome, Erik, 1967-

Source

Photographs by Renée Ater

Date

June 25, 2010

Contributor

Carr Development Corporation and The City of Alexandria

Rights

City of Alexandria, 301 King Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, United States

Format

JPEG

Language

English

Type

Visual Arts-Sculpture

Coverage

Edmonson Plaza, 1701 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia, 22314, United States

Has Part

Inscription on the work's base:
The Edmonson Sisters
Erik Blome
Sculptor
© 2010
Assisted by C. Blome

On the obverse of the memorial, Blome included a low relief of the schooner, Pearl.

Extent

120 in. (304.8 cm)

Medium

Bronze

Bibliographic Citation

Heid, Markham. "Alexandria Dedicats Sculpture Honoring Edmonson Sisters." Washington Examiner, June 24, 2010. Accessed May 27, 2020. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/alexandria-dedicates-sculpture-honoring-edmonson-sisters.

Blome, Erick. "The Edmonson Sisters." Erick Blome-Sculptor. Accessed February 4, 2026. https://www.erikblome.com/edmonson-sisters.

Ater, Renée. "The Memory of Slavery in the Urban Landscape of Alexandria Virginia." In Traces and Memories of Slavery in the Atlantic World, eds. Lawrence Ajé and Nicolas Gachon, 215-232. Routledge, 2020.

Rights Holder

Renée Ater

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Sculpture

Physical Dimensions