Hackerman House at 1 West Mount Vernon Place
In Frederick Douglass Food Stamp Jar, an earthenware vessel, artist Roberto Lugo celebrates the leading abolitionist, social reformer, author, statesman, and Maryland native Frederick Douglass, who is not otherwise represented in the Walters’ collections. The shape of this work is based on 18th-century vessels in the Walters’ collection made by Sèvres, a French manufacturer of luxury porcelains. The artist’s depiction of Douglass includes hair rendered in letters that evoke graffiti and, on the reverse of the vase, a landscape inspired by the imagery found on food stamps.
Lugo is a Philadelphia-based potter, social activist, spoken word poet, and educator. He often uses the traditionally elite medium of porcelain ceramic in conjunction with portraiture to honor the identities of individuals whose faces are seldom represented in such formats, combining historic forms, often European or Asian, with imagery that explores issues such as poverty, inequality, and social and racial injustice.
Slave Ship Potpourri Boat by Lugo is also in the collection of the Walters Art Museum.