Freedman by John Quincy Adams Ward at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Freedman by John Quincy Adams Ward at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. 
Ward, who received his artistic training in the United States, was a revitalizing force in American sculpture during the third quarter of the nineteenth century, being one of the first native sculptors to reject European Neoclassicism for a more naturalistic style. A popular work available in multiple castings, "Freedman" was first exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy in 1863 and remained there until the artist presented it in 1866. Several bronze casts of the piece exist in other collections. The sculpture may be viewed as both a commemoration of the Emancipation Proclamation and an expression of Ward's own abolitionist sentiments. However, Ward dresses his freedman in the classical style. Recent scholarship has noted its relationship to the Greek torso Belvedere, and indeed Ward's appreciation and study of classical sculpture is well documented. From a historical perspective, however, relatively few Roman slaves, actually originated from Africa, as they were mostly derived from the conquered peoples of Europe.


Image: Freedman by John Quincy Adams Ward at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania courtesy of the museum.

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