Eastman Johnson's 'A Ride for Liberty' at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
The 1862 artwork A Ride for Liberty by Eastman Johnson illustrates a Black family fleeing slavery on horseback in northern Virginia. This piece, housed in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, was inspired by Johnson’s sighting near Centreville on March 2, 1862, as a family raced toward Washington, DC. The father supports an older child facing forward, while the mother cradles a younger child facing backward, all bathed in the glow of a sunrise. This painting holds importance for its positive representation of people of color, standing in stark contrast to 19th-century standards. The Civil War (1861-1865), the deadliest war in U.S. history, continues to shape conversations about bias and privilege, linking the artwork to the Underground Railroad and Harriet Tubman.
Key facts
- Eastman Johnson painted A Ride for Liberty in 1862 during the American Civil War.
- The painting is held by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia.
- It depicts a Black family of four—a mother, father, and two young children—fleeing slavery on horseback.
- Johnson witnessed the event near Centreville, Virginia, on the morning of March 2, 1862, while following the Army of the Potomac.
- The family was likely fleeing east toward the free Union capital of Washington, DC.
- The American Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865 and remains the deadliest military conflict in American history.
- Few 19th-century American paintings show people of color as positive, independent subjects.
- The work has been linked in interpretation to the Underground Railroad and Harriet Tubman.
Entities
Artists
- Eastman Johnson
- Harriet Tubman
Institutions
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
- Army of the Potomac
- Union Army
- Northern Union
- Southern Confederacy
- Black Lives Matter
- DailyArt Magazine
Locations
- Richmond
- Virginia
- United States
- Centreville
- Washington, DC
- Northern Virginia