Artist/Maker
Alison Saar
(American, b. 1956)
Depicted
Harriet Tubman
(ca. 1820 - 1913)
Maquette for Swing Low: Harriet Tubman Memorial
2007
Bronze
Overall: 22 1/4 x 24 x 13 1/2 in. (56.5 x 61 x 34.3 cm)
Purchase
2009.34
Alison Saar is a sculptor and mixed-media and installation artist whose work explores Black female identity and the African diaspora. This maquette is a study for "Swing Low: Harriet Tubman Memorial"—a monument to the celebrated African American abolitionist who escaped slavery in 1849 and repeatedly risked her life to complete an astonishing estimated thirteen trips back to her native Maryland to help others toward freedom. Saar’s composition likens Tubman to the Underground Railroad. Her petticoat forms the front grate of a train; and on her skirt ride the faces, belongings, and shoeprints of those she helped escape from bondage. Upon its installation in Harlem in 2008, "Swing Low" became the first public monument to an African American woman in New York City.
ClassificationsSCULPTURE
Collections
- Sculpture Highlights
- Underground Railroad
Alison Saar
2004
2020.39.4
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