While most of these pieces were based on the art before the words, in this case, it was the other way around. Finding a way to express how daunting it must feel to uproot a long-held view of what you thought your world would look like and build anew is a universal theme.
When looking to add to the original piece, we wanted to incorporate red, white, and blue. After making these changes, we started to see a flag form and then incorporated some stars. 
The trials and hardships of our ancestors helped shape the world we live in now. We are part of a country built on the notion that we are resilient and capable of moving forward even when it doesn't feel possible. Whisper century on century.

Artwork Details:
- Based on the original art "On to Liberty" by Theodor Kaufmann, 1867.
- Before coming to the United States in 1850, the German-born Kaufmann studied painting in Düsseldorf and Munich and fought in the 1848 popular uprisings in favor of German national unity. As a Union soldier in the American Civil War, he may have seen Confederate troops retreating with enslaved men, leaving behind women and children. Here, his portrayal of a group of fleeing figures indicates the lack of a clear route to liberty. Recent scholarship suggests that Kaufmann’s scene may have been inspired by a different cultural narrative—an 1859 work, produced in Brazil, by the French painter, Francois-Auguste Biard.