White Savior…

The Gutzon Borglum sculpture of Henry Ward Beecher, erected in the Orange Street courtyard of the Plymouth Church in 1914, captured my attention. The statue of Henry Ward Beecher and an Abraham Lincoln bas-relief, both by Gutzon Borglum, are located inside Beecher Garden, a lovely outdoor area. I was interested in finding out why John Q. A. Ward, the artist who created the Beecher statue that was dedicated in Columbus Park, was less controversial than Gutzon Borglum, the artist who created this second Beecher sculpture. Less people, however, have an issue with this interpretation of Borglum Beecher. In this sculpture by Gutzon Borglum, Henry Ward Beecher is shown with two young African-American children cuddled together. One of the girls turns to face Beecher, while the other buries her head in her sister's lap. Beecher freed the Edmonson sisters (children) by organizing a mock auction to buy slaves' freedom. The expression on Borglum's Beecher is less serious than Ward's Beecher, and his right arm is extended as if he were speaking to the sculpture's viewers. It seems like Beecher is addressing his audience with his right arm while pointing down at the figures with his proper left arm.

Henry Ward Beecher's love for children and support for abolitionism is symbolized by the figurines at the bases of both of his sculptures. He was the founding pastor, a talented preacher who bravely opposed slavery, and was regarded as a well-known person in America. However, because it depicts him as a white savior with helpless enslaved children cowering at his feet, Borglum's sculpture is just as potentially divisive as Ward's. This leaves the question, Why do fewer people have an issue with this interpretation of Borglum Beecher? The physical environment of Plymouth Church, including the surrounding plaque, contextualizes the statue for onlookers. The position of the Plymouth statue shields it from the scrutiny that Ward's sculpture has received from the general public; Borglum's statue of Beecher is far "less public" than Ward's.