Robert Gould Shaw Memorial c. 1973 - 2008

Richard Benson made this photograph of the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial. It captures Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s powerful bronze relief, honoring Colonel Shaw, who led the first all-Black regiment in the Civil War. Benson’s photo invites us to reflect on the complexities of historical memory and representation. Commissioned in a period of rising Jim Crow laws, the original sculpture, while intending to honor Black soldiers, was conceived within a white, abolitionist framework. Saint-Gaudens struggled for years on how to depict the Black soldiers, caught between the desire for individual representation and racist tropes of the era. The result is powerful, yet also fraught with the racial dynamics of its time. Benson’s choice of black and white flattens and abstracts the scene. Consider how the stark contrast captures the somber mood, inviting contemplation on the cost of freedom and the ongoing struggle for racial equality.