Frederick Douglass Series

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Frederick Douglass Series

Douglass – 1. Before I Knew Myself to be a Slave — 1.Before I Knew Myself to be a Slave

Douglass – 2. 12-mile Journey to the realities of slavery — 2. 12-mile Journey to the Realities of Slavery

Douglass – 3. Slavery made us Strangers — Slavery Made us Strangers

04. Dinner at the Pig Troph, 59 x 86, pen on paper, 2014 — Dinner at the Pig Troph

Douglass Series- Dinner at the Pig Trough, 30 x 40, 2017, Acrylic on Canvas — Dinner at the Pig Trough

Douglass series”I Was Somebody’s Child” — I Was Somebody’s Child

Douglass – 7. Whipping Old Barney — Whipping Old Barney

Douglass – 8. Miss Sophia Teach Me to Read ($5,000.00) 32.5″ x 41″charcoal on paper20158. Miss Sophia Teach Me to Read — 8. Miss Sophia Teach Me to Read 5,000.00) 32.5″ x 41″ charcoal on paper 2015

Douglass – 9. My First Anti-Slavery Lecture — My First Anti-Slavery Lecture

Douglass – 11. Given the Inch and Taking the Ell — Given the Inch and Taking the Ell

Douglass – 13. Forever Unfit to be a Slave — Forever Unfit to be a Slave

Douglass – 14. Playmates For My Teachers — Playmates For My Teachers

Douglass – I Forbid You To Read!, 9.5″ x 12.5″, pen and charcoal on paper, 2014 — I Forbid You To Read!

art — Knights Book Store Pen on paper18″ x 12″2015

Douglass – – 16. 1833 Leonid Meteor Shower over St. Micheals — 1833 Leonid Meteor Shower over St. Micheals

Douglass – 18. Unbroken Oxen — Unbroken Oxen

Douglass Series – The Pursuit–Suffering in the Woods — The Pursuit – Suffering in the woods

Douglass – 22. Covey Skirmish — 16. Covey Skirmish 10 inch x 10 inch charcoal and pen on paper 2014 While I was obeying his order to feed and get the horses ready for the field, and when I was in the act of going up the stable loft, for the purpose of throwing down some blades, Covey sneaked into the stable, in his peculiar way, and seizing me suddenly by the leg, he brought me to the stable-floor, giving my newly-mended body a terrible jar. I now forgot all about my roots, and remembered my pledge to stand up in my own defense. The brute was skilfully endeavoring to get a slip-knot on my legs, before I could draw up my feet. As soon as I found what he was up to, I gave a sudden spring (my two days’ rest had been of much service to me) and by that means, no doubt, he was able to bring me to the floor so heavily. He was defeated in his plan of tying me. While down, he seemed to think he had me very securely in his power. He little thought he was–as the rowdies say Page 137 –“in” for a “rough and tumble” fight: but such was the fact. Whence came the daring spirit necessary to grapple with a man, who eight-and-forty hours before, could, with his slightest word, have made me tremble like a leaf in a storm, I do not know; at any rate I was resolved to fight, and what was better still, I actually was hard at it.

Douglass – 24. Held Covey with a Firm Hand — 18. Held Covey with a Firm Hand10inch x 10 inchpen on paper2014My Bondage my Freedomchapter :The Last floggingpg 178″ Are you going to resist you scoundrel? said he. To which , I returned a polite “yes sir; steadily gazing my interrogator in the eye, to meet the first approach or dawning of the blow which I expected to my answer would call forth. But, the conflict did not long remain thus equal…He called for his cousin Hughes, to come to his assistanc, and now the scene ws changed. I was compelled to give blows, as well as to parry them; and, since I was, in an case, to suffer for resistance, I felt ( as the musty proverb goes) that ” I might as well be hanged for an old sheep as a lamb.” I was still defensive towrd Covey but aggressive toward Hughes; and at the first approach of the latter, I dealt a blow, in my desperation, which fairly sickened my yourthful assailant. He went off, bending over with pain, and manifesting no disposition to come within my reach again. The poor fellow was in the act of trying to catch and tie my right hand, and while flattering himself with success, I gave him the kick which sent him staggering away in pain, at the same time that I held Covey with a firm hand.

Douglass – 23. The Last Flogging — The Last Flogging

mp douglass – 26. Guilty of Wanting to be Free — 19. Guilty of Wanting to be Free

Douglass – 27. THE RUNAWAY PLOT — 20. The Runaway Plot 12 inches x 18 inches Pen on paper 2014 Life and Times of Frederick Douglass His Early Life as a Slave, His Escape from Bondage, and His Complete History to the Present Time The Runaway Plot Chapter xix pg 169 In jail we were placed under the care of Mr. Joseph Graham, the sheriff of the county. Henry and John and myself were placed in one room, and Henry Bailey and Charles Roberts in another by themselves. This separation was intended to deprive us of the advantage of concert, and to prevent trouble in jail.

Douglass – 30. Parrying His Blows — 22. Parrying His Blows 12 inches x 18 inches pen on paper 2014 Life and Times of Frederick Douglass His Early Life as a Slave, His Escape from Bondage, and His Complete History to the Present Time CHAPTER XX APPRENTICESHIP LIFE. Page 183 On two other occasions while there I came near losing my life, on one of which I was driving bolts in the hold through the keelson with Hays. In its course the bolt bent. Hays cursed me, and said that it was my blow which bent the bolt. I denied this, and charged it upon him. In a fit of rage he seized an axe and darted toward me. I met him with a maul and parried his blow, or I should have lost my life.

art — 25. Captain McGowan Didn’t See Me 7 foot x 6 foot Charcoal, ink, acrylic on Canvas 2014 Life and Times of Frederick Douglass His Early Life as a Slave, His Escape from Bondage, and His Complete History to the Present Time SECOND PART CHAPTER 1 ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY Page 200 Only a few days before I had been at work on a revenue cutter, in Mr. Price’s ship-yard, under the care of Captain McGowan. On the meeting at this point of the two trains, the one going south stopped on the track just opposite to the one going north, and it so happened that this Captain McGowan sat at a window where he could see me very distinctly, and would certainly have recognized me had he looked at me but for a second. Fortunately, in the hurry of the moment, he did not see me; and the trains soon passed each other on their respective ways.

art — 26. Our Wedding NIght 11 inches x 9 inches charcoal and pen on paper 2014 So on the day of the marriage ceremony, we took our little luggage to the steamer John W. Richmond, which at that time was one of the line running between New York and Newport, R. I. Forty-three years ago colored travelers were not permitted in the cabin, nor allowed abaft the paddle-wheels of a steam vessel. They were compelled, whatever the weather might be, whether cold or hot, wet or dry, to spend the night on deck. Unjust as this regulation was, it did not trouble us much. We had fared much harder before. We arrived at Newport the next morning, and soon after an old-fashioned stage-coach So on the day of the marriage ceremony, we took our little luggage to the steamer John W. Richmond, which at that time was one of the line running between New York and Newport, R. I. Forty-three years ago colored travelers were not permitted in the cabin, nor allowed abaft the paddle-wheels of a steam vessel. They were compelled, whatever the weather might be, whether cold or hot, wet or dry, to spend the night on deck. Unjust as this regulation was, it did not trouble us much. We had fared much harder before. We arrived at Newport the next morning, and soon after an old-fashioned stage-coach

27. Would-Be Judas. 9 inches x 11.25 inches Pen on paper2014 part 2 CHAPTER II.LIFE AS A FREEMAN.pp 209-210A threat was once made by a colored man to inform a southern master where his runaway slave could be found. As soon as this threat became known to the colored people they were furious. A notice wasPage 210read from the pulpit of the Third Christian church (colored) for a public meeting when important business would be transacted (not stating what the important business was). In the meantime special measures had been taken to secure the attendance of the would-be Judas, and these had proved successful, for when the hour of meeting arrived, ignorant of the object for which they were called together, the offender was promptly in attendance. All the usual formalities were gone through with, the prayer, appointments of president, secretaries, etc. Then the president, with an air of great solemnity, rose and said: “Well, friends and brethren, we have got him here, and I would recommend that you, young men, should take him outside the door and kill him.” This was enough; there was a rush for the villain, who would probably have been killed but for his escape by an open window. He was never seen again in New Bedford.

Douglass – 31. Train to Freedom — 23. Train to Freedom 12 inches x 18 inchespen on paper2014Page 198But I had one friend–a sailor–who owned a sailor’s protection, which answered somewhat the purpose of free papers– describing his person, and certifying to the fact that he was a free American sailor. The instrument had at its head the American eagle, which gave it the appearance at once of an authorized document. This protection did not, when in my hands, describe its bearer very accurately. Indeed, it called for a man much darker than myself, and close examination of it would have caused my arrest at the start. In order to avoid this fatal scrutiny on the part of the railroad official, I had arranged with Isaac Rolls, a hackman, to bring my baggage to the train just on the moment of its starting, and jumped upon the car myself when the train was already in motion. Had I gone into the station and offered to purchase a ticket, I should have been instantly and carefully examined, and undoubtedly arrested. In choosing this plan upon which to act, I considered the jostle of the train, and the natural haste of the conductor, in a train crowded with passengers, and relied upon my skill and address in playing the sailor as described in my protection, to do the rest. One element in my favor was the kind feeling which prevailed in Baltimore and other seaports at the time, towards “those who go down to the sea in ships.” “Free trade and sailors’ rights” expressed the sentiment of the country just then. In my clothing I was rigged out in sailor style. I had on a red shirt and a tarpaulin hat and black cravat, tied in sailor fashion, carelessly and loosely about my neck. My knowledge of ships and sailor’s talk came much to my assistance, for I knew a ship from stern to stern, and from keelson to cross-trees, and could talk sailor like an “old salt.” On sped the train, and I was well on the way, to Havre de Grace before the conductor came into the negro car to collect tickets and examine the papers of his black passengers. This was a critical moment in the drama. My whole future depended upon the decision of this conductor. Agitated I was while this ceremony was proceeding, but still externally, at least, I was apparently calm and

Douglass – 32. I Suppose You Have Your Free Papers?” — 24. I Suppose You Have Your Free Papers? 11 inches x 8.5 inches pen on paper 2014 Life and Times of Frederick Douglass His Early Life as a Slave, His Escape from Bondage, and His Complete History to the Present Time Page 199 self-possessed. He went on with his duty–examining several colored passengers before reaching me. He was somewhat harsh in tone, and peremptory in manner until he reached me, when, strangely enough, and to my surprise and relief, his whole manner changed. Seeing that I did not readily produce my free papers, as the other colored persons in the car had done, he said to me in a friendly contrast with that observed towards the others: “I suppose you have your free papers?” To which I answered: “No, sir; I never carry my free papers to sea with me.” “But you have something to show that you area free man, have you not?” “Yes, sir,” I answered; “I have a paper with the American eagle on it, and that will carry me round the world.” With this I drew from my deep sailor’s pocket my seaman’s protection, as before described. The merest glance at the paper satisfied him, and he took my fare and went on about his business. This moment of time was one of the most anxious I ever experienced. Had the conductor looked closely at the paper, be could not have failed to discover that it called for a very different looking person from myself, and in that case it would have been his duty to arrest me on the instant, and send me back to Baltimore from the first station.

I went to St. Michaels to live in March, 1833. I know the year, because it was the one succeeding the first cholera in Baltimore, and was also the year of that strange phenomenon when the heavens seemed about to part with its starry train. I witnessed this gorgeous spectacle, and was awestruck. The air seemed filled with bright descending messengers from the sky. It was about daybreak when I saw this sublime scene. I was not without the suggestion, at the moment, that it might be the harbinger of the coming of the Son of man; and in my then state of mind I was prepared to hail Him as my friend and deliverer. I had read that the “stars shall fall from heaven,” and they were now falling. I was suffering very much in my mind. It did seem that every time the young tendrils of my affection became attached they were rudely broken by some unnatural outside power; and I was looking away to heaven for the rest denied me on earth. Leonid Meteor Shower 18 inches x 12 inches pen on paper 2014 Life and Times of Frederick DouglassHis Early Life as a Slave, His Escape from Bondage, and His Complete History to the Present TimePage 97

Frederick Douglass the Man 36 inches x 86 inches Charcoal on paper 2014 Drawn from an 1841 dauggereotype of Douglass.

mp douglass – 8. Miss Sophia Teach Me to Read ($5,000.00) 32.5″ x 41″charcoal on paper20158. Miss Sophia Teach Me to Read — Miss Sophia Teach Me to Read

art — 24. I Suppose You Have Your Free Papers? 11 inches x 8.5 inches pen on paper 2014 Life and Times of Frederick Douglass His Early Life as a Slave, His Escape from Bondage, and His Complete History to the Present Time Page 199 self-possessed. He went on with his duty–examining several colored passengers before reaching me. He was somewhat harsh in tone, and peremptory in manner until he reached me, when, strangely enough, and to my surprise and relief, his whole manner changed. Seeing that I did not readily produce my free papers, as the other colored persons in the car had done, he said to me in a friendly contrast with that observed towards the others: “I suppose you have your free papers?” To which I answered: “No, sir; I never carry my free papers to sea with me.” “But you have something to show that you area free man, have you not?” “Yes, sir,” I answered; “I have a paper with the American eagle on it, and that will carry me round the world.” With this I drew from my deep sailor’s pocket my seaman’s protection, as before described. The merest glance at the paper satisfied him, and he took my fare and went on about his business. This moment of time was one of the most anxious I ever experienced. Had the conductor looked closely at the paper, be could not have failed to discover that it called for a very different looking person from myself, and in that case it would have been his duty to arrest me on the instant, and send me back to Baltimore from the first station.

Frederick Douglass the Man — Douglass the Man

art — Douglass the Man Acrylic on Canvas

art — Scholars 37inx28.5in acrylic on canvas 2015_0382

P.O. Box 991514 Louisville KY 40269

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