Philadelphia City Hall's Harriet Tubman statue receives final approval to start contracting with artist
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia's permanent Harriet Tubman statue received the final approval needed for the city to begin the contracting process with the artist Alvin Pettit, who constructed the statue. Pettit's creation, "A Higher Power: The Call of a Freedom Fighter" will be the city's first-ever public work that honors a Black woman.
The Philadelphian Art Commission approved the statue in a unanimous vote during a meeting on Wednesday, the city's Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy shared in a release.
Pettit's statue was chosen by the African American Historic Statue Advisory Committee back in October 2023 through an open call for submissions process.
Tubman's positioning in the statue is modeled after a 1975 painting of George Washington "The Prayer at Valley Forge" by Arnold Friberg, the release said.
Pettit said during his creative process, it only made sense to have Tubman remodeled in the same pose Washington was depicted in Arnold's painting.
"Since [George Washington] is considered by most to be the primary founding father of our nation, I feel it is only fitting to reimagine this famous image with Harriet as the Founding Mother of Freedom," Pettit said.
Pettit also said he wanted to honor not just her escape from slavery, but her history as commander of a Black Union regiment, the Second South Carolina Volunteers.
"We often see her in countless artworks and literature and monuments where she is always fleeing on the run. That is part of her history too," Pettit said. "But I thought it was time to change the narrative. Because this woman was also a soldier, a scout, a Union spy, a military strategist and a war hero. Therefore, I captured a moment in time that shows her being a conqueror."
The Tubman statue will be placed on the northeast apron of City Hall. City officials said the statue is expected to be in place by summer 2024 or early 2025.
