Sojourner Truth

Object Details

Artist

Unidentified Artist

Sitter

Sojourner Truth, c. 1797 - 26 Nov 1883

Exhibition Label

In 1843 ex-slave Isabella Van Wagener obeyed God's personal command to her, changed her name to Sojourner Truth, and became an itinerant preacher. Quickly becoming a major attraction on the revival circuit for the power and ingenuity of her prophetic speeches, she was drawn into abolitionism and entranced antislavery audiences with her personal testimony. Like Frederick Douglass, Truth was a charismatic figure because she was not a victim but a leader. She was also a powerful example of African American womanhood. As she concluded in a compelling oration on women's rights, "I could work as much . . . and bear the lash as well [as a man]-and aren't I a woman?"

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

1864

Object number

NPG.78.207

Restrictions & Rights

CC0

Type

Photograph

Medium

Albumen silver print

Dimensions

Image/Sheet: 8.1 x 5.7 cm (3 3/16 x 2 1/4")

Mount: 9.3 x 6.1 cm (3 11/16 x 2 3/8")

Mat: 35.6 x 27.9 cm (14 x 11")

See more items in

National Portrait Gallery Collection

National Portrait Gallery

Topic

Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair

Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses

Home Furnishings\Furniture\Table

Costume\Outerwear\Shawl

Photographic format\Carte-de-visite

Interior\Studio\Photography

Sojourner Truth: Female

Sojourner Truth: Education\Educator\Lecturer

Sojourner Truth: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Abolitionist

Sojourner Truth: Society and Social Change\Enslaved person

Portrait

Record ID

npg_NPG.78.207

Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4f871361b-4eeb-4322-9b59-ba9405b2b135