Freedom to the Slaves
ca. 1865
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
Image: 11 9/16 × 8 9/16 in. (29.3 × 21.8 cm) Sheet: 14 15/16 × 11 5/16 in. (37.9 × 28.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of A. S. Colgate, 1952
Accession Number
52.632.175
Tags
Art Historical Context
"Freedom to the Slaves," poignant lithograph produced around 1865 by the renowned New York firm Currier & Ives and featuring Abraham Lincoln, captures the triumphant spirit of emancipation at the close of the American Civil War. in the immediate aftermath of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and his assassination, this print symbolizes the hard-won liberty for enslaved African Americans, with Lincoln often depicted as a central emancipator figure. Its timing reflects a nation grappling with reconstruction and the promise of equality. Currier & Ives, masters of affordable color lithography, ...