Title
Label
Made by Kerr, Binns & Co., Worcester, England, 1852-1860
Made of Parian Porcelain
Height 11.50"
Museum Purchase with Funds Provided by W. Groke Mickey
This figure captures one of the most emotional moments in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” one of the most eloquent and influential attacks on slavery ever written. Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and published in 1852, Uncle Tom’s Cabin was one of the best-selling American novels of the 19th century
It shows Eva, the daughter of Tom’s owner, having a premonition of her death. After reading from the bible, she points to heaven and reports “I’m going there… to the spirits bright Tom; I’m going, before long.” [xi]
The image was “probably the most influential picture made for ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’” according to one scholar. It was included in every edition of the book, in addition to being the subject of paintings, prints, song lyrics and objects. xii Its popularity probably stemmed from its Christian message, empathy for a dying child, and its subtle reinforcement of racial stereotypes by depicting the young Eva as active and the older Tom as passive. [xiii]
The figure also is one of the most accurate images of the scene, according to Harriett Beecher Stowe. The Worcester factory gave one of the figures to Stowe, and her brother wrote on her behalf that;
“Mrs. Stowe, being unable to write herself, requests me to acknowledge the receipt of the porcelain group of U.T. & Eva. She is very much gratified with the conception and execution of the work, and requests me to say that the artist has succeeded in giving the best realization of her little Eva she has yet seen. In this regard she feels doubly grateful, both for the present to herself, and for the work art viewed as a tribute to the cause of the oppressed.”
SUPPORTING IMAGE
“Tom and Eva in the Arbour” from Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. London: John Cassell, 1852. Special Collections, Washington and Lee University