‘“Any time, any time while I was a slave, if one minute’s freedom had been offered to me, and I had been told I must die at the end of that minute, I would have taken it-just to stand one minute on God’s airth a free woman-I would.”-Elizabeth Freeman[1]
The Story Behind the Portrait
It is ironic that the painting, the Portrait of Elizabeth Freeman, painted in 1811, is so small. The story and history behind the painting is so extraordinary and inspiring it deserves to be told on a larger canvas. This miniature water color on ivory, by Susan Anne Livingston Ridley Sedgwick, depicts an African American slave named Elizabeth Freeman, or as some called her, Mum Bett.[2] It is astonishing that Sedgwick chose to paint Elizabeth Freeman because during this time in history, slavery was still legal and both slaves and Native Americans were seen as inferior to most of the white population. Elizabeth Freeman was born into slavery and remained a slave for thirty years.[3] She eventually sought out her freedom in court and was granted freedom by the jury. She was one of the first female slaves to be set free in America.[4] This was such a remarkable accomplishment that she even changed her name to “Freeman." Elizabeth Freeman’s portrait is historically significant because it depicts a woman who started a major shift in the history of slavery due to her courageous fight for her freedom in court that freed her from bondage triggering later events that ultimately led to the abolishment of slavery in Massachusetts in the late 1700s.
The Story Behind the Portrait
It is ironic that the painting, the Portrait of Elizabeth Freeman, painted in 1811, is so small. The story and history behind the painting is so extraordinary and inspiring it deserves to be told on a larger canvas. This miniature water color on ivory, by Susan Anne Livingston Ridley Sedgwick, depicts an African American slave named Elizabeth Freeman, or as some called her, Mum Bett.[2] It is astonishing that Sedgwick chose to paint Elizabeth Freeman because during this time in history, slavery was still legal and both slaves and Native Americans were seen as inferior to most of the white population. Elizabeth Freeman was born into slavery and remained a slave for thirty years.[3] She eventually sought out her freedom in court and was granted freedom by the jury. She was one of the first female slaves to be set free in America.[4] This was such a remarkable accomplishment that she even changed her name to “Freeman." Elizabeth Freeman’s portrait is historically significant because it depicts a woman who started a major shift in the history of slavery due to her courageous fight for her freedom in court that freed her from bondage triggering later events that ultimately led to the abolishment of slavery in Massachusetts in the late 1700s.