The first sculpture that was dedicated at Scripps College’s new sculpture garden was unique not only because it was the first but also for the following reasons:
1. This sculpture honors Harriet Tubman, who freed herself from the shackles of slavery and became a civil rights activist and iconic conductor of the Underground Railroad, guiding hundreds of enslaved people to freedom.
2. This is Tubman’s first statue on the west coast.
3. Alison Saar is the contemporary American artist who created it, and she is an alumna of Scripps College, a women’s college founded by Ellen Browning Scripps in 1926.
Tubman’s statue is a reduced version of the 13-foot bronze statue that has stood on the Harriet Tubman Triangle in Harlem, New York City, since 2008. The college dedicated it on national Harriet Tubman Day, March 10, 2010, in a special ceremony that was part of the college’s yearlong celebration of “The Genius of Women” celebrating the inauguration of its eighth president, Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga.
The ceremony included a gospel performance, speeches by the college president, Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga, the artist Alison Saar, and Professor Emerita Samella Lewis, and a poem recitation by the poet Lynne Thompson (’72 alumna), which she wrote for the dedication.
This standing sculpture of Harriet Tubman (1822-1913) tells her life story. She is depicted in motion, the roots of slavery on her back; while they try to pull her back, she is unstoppable and continues forward. Her skirt has prints of the faces of the people she rescued from slavery, as if she is the train that carries them to freedom.
The statue’s base is surrounded by tiles with symbols representing moments from Tubman’s life and traditional African-American quilting signs.
Swing Low : Harriet Tubman Sculpture Dedication
The first sculpture installed in Scripps College's new sculpture garden, Swing Low: Harriet Tubman Memorial, 2007, created by Scripps College alumna Alison Saar, was dedicated on Harriet Tubman Day, March 10, 2010, in front of the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery at Scripps College. The sculpture garden is located on the Millard Sheets Art Center grounds surrounding Bixby Court.
The dedication included tea and a short gospel program performed by the Claremont Chamber Choir. Following remarks from Professor Emerita Samella Lewis, one of Saar's most influential instructors at Scripps College, Saar was joined by poet Lynne Thompson '72, who recited a poem commissioned for the dedication. The event continues the College's yearlong celebration of "The Genius of Women" in honor of the inauguration of its eighth president, Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga.
Swing Low is a smaller version of Saar's massive 13-foot tall public sculpture, which holds artistic, cultural, and social significance. Commissioned by the City of New York and installed in Harlem, it depicts Harriet Tubman as an unstoppable force of the Underground Railway. The cast-bronze sculpture shows Tubman, coming on full steam, her petticoat pushing aside all resistance. In the surface of her skirt, pressing through the folds of the fabric, are small mask-like faces representing the men, women, and children whom Tubman led to freedom. Saar has donated a 22" by 24" version to Scripps College; installation of this sculpture has been made possible by gifts from Jacqueline Avant, Carol Vernon, and Robert Turbin.
After graduating from Scripps College in 1978, Saar received an MFA from Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. She has had key exhibits at UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, L.A. Louver Gallery, Phyllis Kind Gallery in New York City, and Pasadena Museum of California Art. She was an artist in residence at Dartmouth College. In 2003, Scripps College awarded Saar its Distinguished Alumna Award.
Swing Low : Harriet Tubman Sculpture Dedication
The first sculpture installed in Scripps College's new sculpture garden, Swing Low: Harriet Tubman Memorial, 2007, created by Scripps College alumna Alison Saar, was dedicated on Harriet Tubman Day, March 10, 2010, in front of the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery at Scripps College. The sculpture garden is located on the Millard Sheets Art Center grounds surrounding Bixby Court.The dedication included tea and a short gospel program performed by the Claremont Chamber Choir. Following remarks from Professor Emerita Samella Lewis, one of Saar's most influential instructors at Scripps College, Saar was joined by poet Lynne Thompson '72, who recited a poem commissioned for the dedication. The event continues the College's yearlong celebration of "The Genius of Women" in honor of the inauguration of its eighth president, Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga.
Swing Low is a smaller version of Saar's massive 13-foot tall public sculpture, which holds artistic, cultural, and social significance. Commissioned by the City of New York and installed in Harlem, it depicts Harriet Tubman as an unstoppable force of the Underground Railway. The cast-bronze sculpture shows Tubman, coming on full steam, her petticoat pushing aside all resistance. In the surface of her skirt, pressing through the folds of the fabric, are small mask-like faces representing the men, women, and children whom Tubman led to freedom. Saar has donated a 22" by 24" version to Scripps College; installation of this sculpture has been made possible by gifts from Jacqueline Avant, Carol Vernon, and Robert Turbin.
After graduating from Scripps College in 1978, Saar received an MFA from Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. She has had key exhibits at UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, L.A. Louver Gallery, Phyllis Kind Gallery in New York City, and Pasadena Museum of California Art. She was an artist in residence at Dartmouth College. In 2003, Scripps College awarded Saar its Distinguished Alumna Award.
