A Intriguing Mystery Piece

19th Century painting of a corn-cob-pipe-smoking African American woman who bears a

a remarkable resemblance to the five-foot-tall "Moses" of the Underground Railroad -- Harriet Tubman.

( more comparative photos of the real Harriet Tubman are below )

  A large (18" wide x 24" tall), unsigned 19th century oil painting of an American Slave woman, most likely painted during her life. Though we are not experts on paintings we feel this is realism. Realists render everyday characters, situations, dilemmas, and objects, all in a "true-to-life" manner. Realists tend to discard theatrical drama, lofty subjects and classical forms of art in favor of commonplace themes. We are not sure who painted this woman, but we can see for certain this portrait was meant to be very realistic.

  In person, this artwork is compelling, a viewer cannot help but feel the meaning in this work. We are intrigued by the similarities between this oil painting and the famous Harriet Tubman. We researched artwork and famous women slaves of that era in America and found many characteristics are shared between the woman in the painting and Harriet herself.