On the heels of federal park officials formally establishing the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in upstate New York, a new photo of Tubman has surfaced. According to historians, Tubman was between the ages of 43 and 46 when the photo was taken.
“There’s no doubt in my mind about the provenance of the photo and that it is Tubman,” said Kate Clifford Larson, author of Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero.
“What’s remarkable about this photograph is that she’s so proud and dignified and beautiful. She looks so young,” Larson said. “This is the vibrant young Tubman just coming off her work during the Civil War. She’s building her life with her family in Auburn[, N.Y.].”
According to Larson, the photo was owned by Tubman’s friend and fellow abolitionist Emily Howland. The photo goes up for auction March 30 at Swann Galleries. And for some reason, this actually makes me a little sad.