Free

Artist Otto Braun (German, active late 19th century)

Artistafter Emma Marie Cadwalader-Guild (1843 - 1911)

Datemodeled 1876, carved after 1876

MediumBasswood

Dimensions30 1/2 x 8 1/4 x 15 3/8 in. (77.5 x 21 x 39.1 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LinePromised Gift to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas

Signedon proper right side of base: EMMA CADWALLADER GUILD mod. [modeled] / OTTO BRAUN WACKERSLEBEN geschn. [carved]

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Label TextThis sculpture presents an African American man leaning against the stump of a tree with his gaze downcast and hands held behind him as if they are bound. Although the title indicates that he is a freed man, his posture suggests a more complicated reality. In the decades following the abolition of slavery, African Americans still had limited social mobility due to prejudice and Reconstruction-era conditions, making it hard for former slaves to better their quality of life.

Esta escultura presenta a un afroamericano recostado del tocón de un árbol, con la mirada baja y las manos escondidas detras de él, tal y como si estuviesen atadas. A pesar de que el título sugiere que es un hombre libre, su postura refleja una realidad mucho más complicada. En las décadas posteriores a la abolición de la esclavitud, los afroamericanos tenían muy limitada movilidad social debido a los prejuicios, y a las condiciones de la era de la Reconstrucción, y esto a su vez, dificultaba que los esclavos libertos mejoraran su calidad de vida.