The Freedman's Bureau
Artist
Thomas Worth
Publisher
Currier & Ives
(American, 1824–1895)
Date1868
Mediumlithograph on cream wove paper
Dimensionssheet: 44.9 x 34.4 cm (17 11/16 x 13 9/16 in.)
ClassificationsPrints
Credit LineCharles E. Goodspeed Collection
Terms
Object number1910.48.3431
Label TextA former slave (freedman) stands before a dresser (bureau), adjusting his tie in this visual pun. The Freedman’s Bureau was a government agency formed in 1865, the same year that slavery was abolished. Many freed slaves believed that the agency would provide them “40 acres and a mule” to ensure financial security, but such provisions were unattainable and the Bureau was criticized for being unsuccessful. The print reflects conflicting realities of African Americans: the ragged clothing and broken furniture represent the struggle of poverty, while the hanging fiddle and Abraham Lincoln’s portrait represent gaiety and progress.On View
Not on view
