Frederick Douglass Bust
This exciting project was the brainchild of our classmate Roger Anderson. Roger, who wrote a book about sculptor, Bruce Wolfe, arranged with the sculptor to produce a second casting of a Frederick Douglass bust as displayed in an outdoor setting at Hillsdale College. At the October 2019 meeting, the Class Committee voted to fund the production of the Frederick Douglass bust which is displayed in the Rauner Special Collections Library. Production of the bust was followed closely by Roger.
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” - Frederick Douglass, August 3, 1857
One of Douglass' most famous speeches is his July 5, 1852 ("Fourth of July" speech to the Lady's Anti-slavery Society delivered at Corinthian Hall in Rochester New York. Some of his descendants deliver memorable passages from the speech in a recording made by Public Television. USA Today published an article on July 3, 2021 discussing the speech.
Visit the Frederick Douglass Lounge in Cork, Ireland
Pride of Place
Frederick Douglass Bust on its pedestal in Rauner
Photo Credit: Tom C. E. Kemp, College Photographer
Monumental Scale:
Uncrating the Bust
The Douglass Bust Project:
The Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War, and John Kemeny’s computers are perhaps the three things that had the greatest impacts on many of the members of the Class of 1968 while we were at Dartmouth. And their spell on us remains. Now our Class has a unique opportunity to honor the memory of one of our nation’s most influential and eloquent spokespersons for racial equality – Frederick Douglass.
Project Description: A gift to the College of a monument-sized bust of Frederick Douglass by Bruce Wolfe, considered to be one of America’s best portrait sculptors. His other works include two statues of Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, one of which is on display at the Houston airport. Roger Anderson’s book about Bruce Wolfe can be found at www.RogerArvidBooks.com.
The cost of commissioning a bust by Bruce Wolfe can be $50,000 to $70,000, but he is willing to waive his normal artist’s fee because of his long-standing professional relationship with Roger, provided that we pay the casting costs for the Douglass bust, which are estimated to be about $10,000.
Proposed Location: Although the Douglass bust will be owned by the Hood Museum, it will be displayed initially at the open end of the east mezzanine – a favorite study area for students and in the vicinity of a bust of Daniel Webster - in the Rauner Special Collections Library.
Timeline: The Douglas bust will be cast at the Artworks Foundry in Berkeley, California, where Roger will be available to monitor the process. The casting can begin as soon as the funds from the Class of 1968 become available. The foundry estimates a casting time of four months, so we hope that the bust will be on display at Rauner Library by the time of our Class Committee meeting in May of 2020.
Statements of Support:
Sue Mehrer, Dean of Libraries: “[W]e would be delighted to consider your gift for the Library. . . . It would fit very well with teaching and research opportunities there, particularly in relation to our current Historical Accountability Research Fellowship Program (https:www.library.dartmouth.edu/about/historical-accountability-program).”
Bob Bonner, Chair, History Department: “This sounds fascinating.” “It’s a beautiful piece of art.”
Don Pease ‘68a, Professor, English Department: “What a wonderful idea!! You have my complete support.”
John Engelman ’68: “I enthusiastically support the funding of the Frederick Douglass bust. As Dartmouth strives to become an inclusive and welcoming College, I think it’s important that we recognize diversity by celebrating individuals, both alumni and non-alumni, who can serve as role models and touchstones for the increasingly diverse student body.
“The African-American presence on campus is significant, and yet there are very few items on campus that celebrate that heritage. There is the E.E. Just academic chair and a corresponding academic program; there is a portrait of Errol Hill, the first tenured African American professor at the College; and there is the old Cutter Hall, now known as Cutter-Shabazz. Funding a bronze bust of such an important historical figure as Frederick Douglass, and placing it in a prominent location such as Rauner Library, would send a message that Dartmouth celebrates the accomplishments and historic role of this particular African-American icon, and African-American accomplishments in general.”