At A Glance
Commissioned for the Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial
A bronze group in the Central Terrace of the Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial symbolizing “the welcoming of the oppressed from all lands”
The Fairmount Park Art Association’s (now the Association for Public Art) Samuel Committee originally chose Gaston Lachaise to create the bronze group symbolizing “the welcoming of the oppressed from all lands.” But when Lachaise died in 1935 after completing only a quarter-scale model, the committee chose Maurice Sterne to replace him.
Sterne, a Russian-American painter, printmaker, and sculptor, was known for the controlled poise of his works. His Welcoming to Freedom represents two male figures, one standing with arms raised in welcome, the other seated and gesturing in solidarity. Sterne had been an early teacher of Robert Laurent, whose Spanning the Continent can also be found in the Central Terrace of the Ellen Phillip Samuel Memorial.
The Central Terrace of the Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial
Construction of the Samuel Memorial began with the Central Terrace. Six sculptors were commissioned to create two large bronze monuments and four complementary figures in limestone. These works express the twin themes of America’s westward expansion and the new nation’s welcome to immigrants from other lands.
Sculptures in the Central Terrace:
- Spanning the Continent, Robert Laurent
- Welcoming to Freedom, Maurice Sterne
- The Ploughman, J. Wallace Kelly
- The Miner, John B. Flannagan
- The Slave, Hélène Sardeau
- The Immigrant, Heinz Warneke
- The Spirit of Enterprise, Jacques Lipchitz
Adapted from Public Art in Philadelphia by Penny Balkin Bach (Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 1992).
Voices heard in the Museum Without Walls: AUDIO program: Penny Balkin Bach is the former Executive Director & Chief Curator of the Association for Public Art (formerly the Fairmount Park Art Association) and the author of many books and articles about Philadelphia’s public art. Kathleen A. Foster is Robert L. McNeil, Jr., Senior Curator of American Art and Director of the Center for American Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Michael Taylor is the former Muriel and Philip Berman Curator of Modern Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the author of Jacques Lipchitz and Philadelphia. | Segment Producer: Amanda Aronczyk and Ave Carrillo
Museum Without Walls: AUDIO is the Association for Public Art’s award-winning audio program for Philadelphia’s outdoor sculpture. Available for free by phone, mobile app, or online, the program features more than 150 voices from all walks of life – artists, educators, civic leaders, historians, and those with personal connections to the artworks.
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