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To Be Or Not To Be Free

Artist/Maker (American, 1930–2024)
Date2014
MediumColor lithograph
DimensionsImage: 30 1/8 × 22 3/8 in. (76.5 × 56.8 cm)
Credit LinePaul B. Arnold Memorial Art Acquisition Fund
Edition52/60
Object number2016.7
Status
Not on view
Copyright© Faith RinggoldMore Information
Part of the series Coming to Jones Road, this print, modeled after a quilt, shows a group of travelers huddled close as they move through a dense forest, going north to freedom. The surrounding text refers to the dream of escaping slavery, and how it was realized through many hardships. The series was created in part as the artist’s response to a move she made from Harlem, New York, to Englewood, New Jersey. Not feeling connected to this new home, she looked to the history of the area, sharing stories of those who had traveled through it on the Underground Railroad.
Exhibition History
New Acquisitions and Old Friends
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (August 3, 2021 - June 12, 2022 )
Collections
  • Modern & Contemporary