PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia’s new Harriet Tubman statue is one step closer to taking its place outside of City Hall, as officials gave final approval to the project.
The Philadelphia Art Commission unanimously approved the commission at a regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, allowing the city to begin the contracting process with artist Alvin Pettit. The Jersey City-based Pettit was chosen last October to create the statue, after an open call to artists was narrowed down to five finalists.
All five finalists were presented to the public in an online survey that received nearly 3,000 responses. Pettit’s design scored the highest in every category, including likeness, essence and emotional and educational qualities.
The statue will be titled “A Higher Power: The Call of a Freedom Fighter,” and will stand on the northeast apron of City Hall upon its completion. According to the city’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, it is inspired by Tubman’s Civil War heroism, including an 1863 battle where she led 150 Black Union soldiers and rescued more than 700 enslaved people. Tubman was the first woman to lead an armed military operation in the U.S.
“As the first ever woman mayor of Philadelphia, I am thrilled that the first piece of public art to be approved under this administration will be this statue of a Black woman who fought for freedom here in Philadelphia,” said Mayor Cherelle Parker.
Oct. 30, 2023
Pettit says the statue, which depicts Tubman with a rifle across her arm and her hands clasped in prayer, is also inspired by a 1975 painting of George Washington at Valley Forge. “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,” said the artist.
A permanent Tubman statue has been in the works since 2022, after a traveling statue of the abolitionist received positive feedback from Philadelphians. The Kenney administration commissioned that statue’s creator, Wesley Wofford, to create the permanent work.
However, the choice of Wofford, a white sculptor from North Carolina, received pushback from many Black artists from the area, who were upset that the city automatically chose to move forward with Wofford rather than offer local artists, including those of color, the opportunity to submit their own designs.