Lawrence artist Stan Herd has created an earthwork portrait of Kansas abolitionist John Brown for the City of Osawatomie. The first-of-its-kind tribute to Brown is set to be unveiled on Saturday.
The land artwork is located at John Brown Memorial Park in Osawatomie. The city in April announced the new partnership with Herd in an “effort to highlight the city’s critical role in pre-Civil War American history” and “transition the currently-state maintained historic site into a national park and museum, much akin to the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia,” according to a news release.
Herd opted for a less popular photo of Brown in which he doesn’t have his famous long beard to translate into the land art. But the photo, thought to have been taken while Brown was living in Kansas, conveys a deeper message, according to the city’s website.
“Many Kansans, and a sizable majority of Americans, know little about the storied history of John Brown and Osawatomie,” Herd said in the program for the official unveiling. “This story is but one component of an amazing unfolding of the American DNA; from the ‘Trail of Death’ of the Potawatomi to the thunderous beginning of the war that separated the Nation, to the opening of the West with the industry and rail convergence on the Kansas plains. Every American should know this story, if they want to know who they truly are as a Nation.”
City officials will unveil the portrait with Herd and his team of landscapers, assistants and directors at noon Saturday, June 17 at John Brown Memorial Park, located at 10th and Main streets in Osawatomie. The event is free and open to the public.
Visit the City of Osawatomie’s website to learn more about the project.
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