| CREATOR(S) | David Gilmour Blythe
| | TITLE | The Higher Law (Southern Attack on Liberty) | | DATE | 1861 | | MEDIUM | oil on canvas | | MEASUREMENTS | H: 20 1/4 x W: 24 1/2 inches (H: 51 x W: 62 cm) | | CREDIT | Patrons Art Fund: gift of Mr. and Mrs. John F. Walton, Jr. | | ACCESSION NUMBER | 58.56.3 | | LOCATION | Gallery 3 | | DESCRIPTION | | This painting presents David Gilmour Blythe's view of the causes of the Civil War. At the center of the composition, American Liberty lies mortally wounded on her shield. Behind her is the grave of Common Sense, bearing the date 1861. Liberty's attackers—a Northern abolitionist and a Southern slaveholder—stand on either side of her. On the left, the abolitionist holds aloft a volume labeled "Higher Law." It reflects the radical abolitionist belief that the moral imperative of eliminating slavery overrode the law of the land. The Southerner clings to a paper inscribed "Our Rights" and a slave's shackles. In the background, a flaming dragon's cave identifies "The Final Location of the Southern Capitol" as hell. |
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Image © 2006 Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh
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