the art & writing of

48" x 48"

mixed media:  engraving, paint, wood, adhesive letters,  on wood

completed  April 2011

[ this piece is in my Harriet Tubman Series ]

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The Engraved Text on the Work:

 I have engraved 319 names, names of slaves whose names appear  in  probate records of southern U.S. states.    Originally,  I believed the number of persons Harriet Tubman led to freedom in the north was 319. That number has gained acceptance in the cultural literature of  Tubman's work.

However,  after reading Kate Clifford Larson's biography of Tubman, it's clear:  Harriet herself put the number of persons she led to the north at between 50-60.    She did, however, "assist" hundreds more with her advice and knowledge of the routes north, tactics, etc.  

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NOTE BOARD  for this Piece:

The engraved text on the note board: 

Warriors all.

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ARTIST'S NOTE:

This is a piece of advice Harriet Tubman received from her father, Ben Ross.

MOSS GROWS THICKER ON THE NORTH SIDE (with Note Board)

And so  Harriet Tubman was told by her father, Ben Ross.

A little piece of advice helped a conductor on the Underground Railroad go far, real  far.  So far she  could taste freedom  and lead 319 persons to their freedom, too.

Go, Harriet, go!

And off went,  Harriet,  went.

And off they snuck & crept, over the  Mason Dixon, into New York, and some kept going into Canada.

MOSS GROWS THICKER ON THE NORTH SIDE (with Note Board)

And so  Harriet Tubman was told by her father, Ben Ross.

A little piece of advice helped a conductor on the Underground Railroad go far, real  far.  So far she  could taste freedom  and lead 319 persons to their freedom, too.

Go, Harriet, go!

And off went,  Harriet,  went.

And off they snuck & crept, over the  Mason Dixon, into New York, and some kept going into Canada.