1945 (ca.), William H. Johnson, Three Great Abolitionists: A. Lincoln, F. Douglass, J. Brown -- Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington)
From the museum label:
In Three Great Abolitionists, Fredrick Douglass (1818-1895) clasps hands with John Brown (1800-1859) and President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865). Brown represents the lead-up to the Civil War; Douglass the abolitionist cause; and Lincoln the abolition of slavery. Surrounding these figures, cotton bolls and men plowing speak to the backbreaking toil of enslaved agricultural workers. At the lower left, African American women raise their arms in praise.
Johnson's painting represents the reconciliation of three men who held conflicting ideas about how to abolish slavery. Brown and Douglass were deeply committed to racial equality, but when Brown asked Douglass to join the Harpers Ferry raid, Douglass refused. Lincoln publicly condemned Brown's violence, saying it was damaging to enslaved people and abolitionists alike. Douglass also criticized Lincoln, who was elected on a promise to prevent the spread of slavery rather than to end slavery itself. After Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, Douglass threw his support behind the president.
1945 (ca.), William H. Johnson, Three Great Abolitionists: A. Lincoln, F. Douglass, J. Brown -- Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington)
From the museum label:
In Three Great Abolitionists, Fredrick Douglass (1818-1895) clasps hands with John Brown (1800-1859) and President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865). Brown represents the lead-up to the Civil War; Douglass the abolitionist cause; and Lincoln the abolition of slavery. Surrounding these figures, cotton bolls and men plowing speak to the backbreaking toil of enslaved agricultural workers. At the lower left, African American women raise their arms in praise.
Johnson's painting represents the reconciliation of three men who held conflicting ideas about how to abolish slavery. Brown and Douglass were deeply committed to racial equality, but when Brown asked Douglass to join the Harpers Ferry raid, Douglass refused. Lincoln publicly condemned Brown's violence, saying it was damaging to enslaved people and abolitionists alike. Douglass also criticized Lincoln, who was elected on a promise to prevent the spread of slavery rather than to end slavery itself. After Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, Douglass threw his support behind the president.