Levi Coffin Barn Interior with False Bottom Wagon, Fountain City, Indiana, from the series "Underground Railroad"

Artist Document Files\Artist U thru Z\Williams, William E\Audio Files\Audio of Ilana Carlin '09 Interview with William E. Williams '73 1.m4a

Artist Document Files\Artist U thru Z\Williams, William E\Exhibition Catalogs\Uncovering the Path to Freedom 2008.pdf

Artist/Maker William E. Williams (American, born 1950, Class of 1973)

Date2001, printed 2003

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsSheet: 10 × 8 in. (25.4 × 20.3 cm) Image: 7 9/16 × 7 3/4 in. (19.2 × 19.7 cm)

Credit LineGift of William Earle Williams, Class of 1973, in honor of the Class of 1973

Object number2008.5.2

Not on view

DescriptionThe Levi Coffin house is a registered National Historic Landmark. Built in 1839, this Federal style brick home was used as an Underground Railroad station. The false bottom wagon (one of the few extant) was used to transport fugitive slaves. Breathing holes for the secret human cargo can be seen in the bottom section of the wagon. Levi and Catharine Coffin were Quakers who opposed slavery. They accommodated fugitive slaves on their journey to freedom in the North. The Coffins hid escaping slaves in a secret upstairs room and placed beds in front of the door to conceal the entrance. Fugitives sometimes stayed at the Coffins’ home for a couple of weeks to gain enough strength to continue on their journey. The Coffins successfully concealed over 2,000 fugitives and no slaves failed to reach freedom from their house. In 1847, the Coffins moved to Cincinnati so that Levi could operate a wholesale warehouse that supplied goods to free labor stores. The Coffins continued to assist the cause, helping another 1,300 slaves escape. WW: The breathing holes in the bottom section of the wagon that can be seen in this photograph are crucial to understanding the picture and why it was made. The curators of the site gave me unfettered access to the site for nearly eight hours to make this and other pictures. I consider this to be one of the top sites interpreting the Underground Railroad experience in the United States. (SOURCE: Adair, et al., "Uncovering the Path to Freedom" exh. cat, p. 27)

Collections

Additional Details

Exhibition History 2011
Online exhibition ( http://www.hamilton.edu/emerson_gallery/upf/ ), UNCOVERING THE PATH TO FREEDOM: PHOTOGRAPHYS OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD BY WILLIAM EARLE WILLIAMS, '73, August 2008 - October 2011.

2006-08
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). UNCOVERING THE PATH TO FREEDOM: PHOTOGRAPHYS OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD BY WILLIAM EARLE WILLIAMS, '73, January 14 - April 13, 2008 (cat no. 21, illus.). Traveled to: Auburn, NY (Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center), April 26 - June 14, 2006.

Provenance 2008: Hamilton College (Fred L. Emerson Gallery), by gift of the artist.

Markings Blind stamp: "PHOTOGRAPH / BY / WILLIAM EARLE WILLIAMS / COPYRIGHT" at lower center of sheet.

Published References UNCOVERING THE PATH TO FREEDOM: PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD BY WILLIAM EARLE WILLIAMS '73 (exhibition catalogue). Text by Katerina Adair; Ilana Carlin; Sophia Franck; Deborah Pokinski; and Susanna White. Clinton, NY: Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College, 2008. 27, illus. p. 4.

Signature Not signed.

Inscribed "Levi Coffin Barn Interior with False / bottom Wagon, fountain city Ind 2001" on verso at mid-lower center in pencil; "Coffin Barn Ld 2001 3.2 5x16 DrLurter BrcesdmdfrGr253 0 1703" on verso at lower edge in pencil.