Black History

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Y O U   B E   T H E   J U D G E

Is this a long lost painting of the conductor of the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman?

19th Century painting of a corn-cob-pipe-smoking African American woman who bears a
remarkable resemblance to the five-foot-tall “Moses” of the Underground Railroad — Harriet Tubman.
( more comparative photos of the real Harriet Tubman below )

A large (18″ wide x 24″ tall), unsigned 19th century oil painting of an American Slave woman, most likely painted during her life. Though we are not experts on paintings we feel this is realism. Realists render everyday characters, situations, dilemmas, and objects, all in a “true-to-life” manner. Realists tend to discard theatrical drama, lofty subjects and classical forms of art in favor of commonplace themes. We are not sure who painted this woman, but we can see for certain this portrait was meant to be very realistic.

In person, this artwork is compelling, a viewer cannot help but feel the meaning in this work. As you can see below, we are intrigued by the similarities between this oil painting and the famous Harriet Tubman. We researched artwork and famous women slaves of that era in America and found many characteristics are shared between the woman in the painting and Harriet herself.

Would you like a museum-quality framed giclee’ reproduction of this painting?
If so, email us with your level of interest.

QUICK BIO: Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross; c. 1820 – March 10, 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made 19 missions to Maryland to rescue over 300 people using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. If anyone ever wanted to change his or her mind during the journey to freedom and return, Tubman pulled out her revolver and said, “You’ll be free or you’ll die a slave!” The petite Tubman knew that if anyone turned back, it would put her and the other escaping slaves in danger of discovery, capture or even death. She became so well known for leading slaves to freedom that Tubman became known as the “Moses of Her People.” Many slaves dreaming of freedom sang the spiritual “Go Down Moses.” Slaves hoped a savior would deliver them from slavery just as Moses had delivered the Israelites from slavery.  During these dangerous journeys she helped rescue members of her own family, including her 70-year-old parents. At one point, rewards for Tubman’s capture was a combined total of $40,000. Yet, she was never captured and never failed to deliver her “passengers” to safety. As Tubman herself said, “On my Underground Railroad I [never] run my train off [the] track [and] I never [lost] a passenger.” One day, when she was an adolescent, Tubman was sent to a dry-goods store for some supplies. There, she encountered a slave owned by a different family, who had left the fields without permission. His overseer, furious, demanded that Tubman help restrain the young man. She refused, and as the slave ran away, the overseer threw a two-pound weight from the store’s counter. It missed and struck Tubman instead, which she said “broke my skull.” She later explained her belief that her hair – which “had never been combed and … stood out like a bushel basket” – might have saved her life. Bleeding and unconscious, Tubman was returned to her owner’s house and laid on the seat of a loom, where she remained without medical care for two days. She was immediately sent back into the fields, “with blood and sweat rolling down my face until I couldn’t see.” Her boss said she was “not worth a sixpence” and returned her to Brodess, who tried unsuccessfully to sell her. She began having seizures and would seemingly fall unconscious, although she claimed to be aware of her surroundings even though she appeared to be asleep.

Notice the length of her fingers in the photo (above) compared to the fingers in the painting. Compare the bone structures of the two faces above. Notice the petite size of her body & short stature (5′ tall) in the photo compared to the size/stature in the painting.

These episodes were alarming to her family who were unable to wake her when she fell asleep suddenly and without warning. This condition remained with Tubman for the rest of her life; Larson suggests she may have suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy as a result of the injury. This severe head wound occurred at a time in her life when Tubman was becoming deeply religious. As an illiterate child, she had been told Bible stories by her mother. The particular variety of her early Christian belief remains unclear, but Tubman acquired a passionate faith in God. She rejected white interpretations of scripture urging slaves to be obedient, finding guidance in the Old Testament tales of deliverance. After her brain trauma, Tubman began experiencing visions and potent dreams, which she considered signs from the divine. This religious perspective instructed her throughout her life. She later helped John Brown recruit men for his raid on Harpers Ferry, and in the post-war era she retired to the family home in Auburn, NY (sold to her by the abolitionist and US Senator, William H. Seward for $1,200) and worked for women’s suffrage.

Could this be a lost, genuine painting of the real Harriet Tubman?
We’re not positive either way…
Even though there seems to be no historical record (that we can find) of Harriet smoking a pipe,
somehow in our minds, a “gun-toting Harriet” and a “corn-cob-pipe-smoking Harriet” go hand in hand.

V A R I A B L E S   T O   C O N S I D E R   A S   Y O U   C O M P A R E
1. The photograph is a frontal shot and the painting is more of a 3/4 side view.
2. The photograph head shot is slightly larger than the other.
3. The person in one of the images might be older/younger than the other.
4. The artistic skills of the painter might not have captured the exact features a photograph can capture.

[ Any ideas? If you can offer expert advice, we will send you a number of other close-up photos of this painting. ]
Dr. Joel Freeman’s contact info is at the bottom of this page.

The painting itself is about 24″ high x 18″ wide. The large size of the painting alone causes us to think that this was the portrayal of an important or at least a compelling/intriguing person. This painting was acquired from Arizona. The bronze colored frame is about 23 inches wide by 29 inches high. There is some writing on the back of the frame which looks like F.E.D. Deutschbein…but quite hard to make out. On the front of the painting there is a marking that has been painted over or rubbed out for some reason that states “Annual…” and some other words but they are now covered over. It also has a very old store sticker on the back of the frame which states “Gimbel Brothers, 33rd St. and Broadway, New York, N.Y. with Picture Department and the numbers 36025″ which you can clearly see in the photos above. Gimbels was the flagship of all Department stores at one time and started out in 1887 but closed its doors not long ago in 1987 after 100 years of service. The painting is done on canvas board (cardboard material covered with canvas). Our research indicates that canvas boards were first manufactured and commercially available in the 1870s.
– O B S E R V A T I O N S:
As to the identity of the painter, we can not be sure. Someone may be able to recognize this work, however we are not experts in this field. The painting has no visible signature that we can see. We are not sure whether this was painted by a German man or woman or perhaps even a slave. The German word or name on the back would help us if we knew what it meant or where it was from at one time. But we believe it has some connection with Germany. The painting does look by all accounts to be much older than the framing. Could the previous owner have brought the painting from Germany to the United States to secure it just before World War II broke out? Or did he/she bring it from the U.S. to Germany at that time? These are questions that we would love to know the answers to and maybe someone reading this can help. Was it in a Museum in Germany? We just don’t know.
The framing is expensive by the standards of those days and not done for just any typical oil painting and especially of an American Slave. The  nails and frame have some age to them also but we still believe they are not as old as the painting and we do not believe this was the original frame. Looking at the painting itself prompts us to believe that it was re-framed at some time. The painting seems much older than the frame but then again we just don’t know for sure.  We believe it is very possible that the painting may have been re-framed at Gimbels a long time ago. Also note that the antique sticker on the front of the frame says “annual…”  Why? Could it mean that this painting was in an annual show (Museum or gallery?) long ago. So many questions but to us this just makes it a more interesting piece.
In the oil painting, the colors have faded from time, through the many years. A 19th century oil painting of a female slave in portrait style and of this size is rare in itself.  However if we are correct that this woman is/may be the famous Harriet Tubman it would be a very valuable piece of History. This is not a perfectly precise painting done by a modern artist. The painter did not sign his/her name, which causes us to wonder if the painter was another slave.
Also, the piece seems to have been done more from the heart than for photographic perfection. This is truly what makes this painting special. In the photos of the Painting, we have included authentic photographs of Miss Tubman. There are some very interesting similarities to the photos of the real Harriet Tubman and the slave Woman in the painting, so please take a close look at them all. Facial features seem to be very similar, her hair covering, her expression, and more.  She is also sitting in a different position than in any other photograph we have seen of Ms Tubman. She is very much seated for a Portrait. As you know, painters paint what they see and if they are not masters, or paint in a different method or style, the painting will not always be photographically exact in every detail.  This is a fascinating painting of a slave woman, even if it is not Harriet Tubman it is still a rare and special piece. We find her body shape to be very realistic and a great type of Realism in itself. The muscular arms and fitness of the woman is very realistic & not covered up by romanticism.
Obviously the painter wanted us to see this woman for who she was and also what her life was like in her past. The painter was trying to show her strength. This leads one back to Harriet Tubman who was indeed a very strong and influential women. What is also interesting is that the slave woman is smoking an old hand made corn cob or wood pipe and this was commonly done by African American women of the era. She is also wearing typical clothes of an American Slave in rosy tones with a head wrap (common to Tubman) and also an apron with ruffled blouse which was all common slave wear back then. The painting was most likely brighter in the 1800′s, but time has given it a unique beauty that only age can produce.
The realism is striking in this painting. Strong arms from working in fields we suspect and weathering on her face from years of hard work. This woman had to be a tough and the painting portrays that. If this is a portrait of Ms Harriet Tubman, she had to be not only strong and fit but very courageous to take slaves from masters in the mid 19th century. Tubman knew the consequences if she were ever caught but (some say by the blessing of God) it is true that of the hundreds of slaves she freed not one was caught. Harriet worked as a union cook, scout and spy during the Civil War and was commended for her bravery.

Would you like a framed giclee’ reproduction of the painting that resembles Harriet Tubman?  If so, email us with your interest.