Harriet Tubman, the central figure in this print, escaped from slavery in 1849. She became a “conductor” of the Underground Railroad, a covert system used to transport slaves in the South to freedom in the North. Wielding a gun and directing others to freedom, Tubman’s powerful gesture and larger-than life scale underscore her heroic status in the American consciousness.

Working to improve the lives of African Americans on multiple fronts, artist Elizabeth Catlett depicts a historical figure who fought to do the same thing in her own era. Catlett’s bold and expressive style shows the influence of her time in Mexico. The artist, who initially visited Mexico City on a fellowship in 1946, lived and worked in that country for the rest of her life. Catlett felt a kinship with Mexican artists, such as Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, who critiqued social and political inequality in their work.