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Primary sourcePhotographc. 1870

Sojourner Truth, 1870

Randall Studio · c. 1870

A studio portrait photograph of Sojourner Truth in her seventies, taken by the Randall Studio around 1870.

This portrait depicts Truth in her seventies, still engaged in activism for freedpeople's rights.

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Sepia-toned seated portrait of an elderly Black woman in a dark dress, white shawl with fringe, and white bonnet, sitting in an ornately carved dark wooden armchair in a studio with a decorated shelf and vases behind her.
Randall Studio, portrait of Sojourner Truth, c. 1870.

About this source

What it is

This photograph of Sojourner Truth was taken by the Randall Studio. It shows her seated in an ornately carved wooden armchair in a studio, wearing a dark dress and a fringed white shawl and bonnet, at a time when she was in her seventies.

Why it matters

By this point in her life, Truth continued to be active in public causes, including the campaign for land for people freed from slavery. This portrait shows her later in life, still carrying herself with the same dignity seen in her earlier photographs, and reflects how photography continued to be a tool she used to present herself to the public.

Look closer

  • How does this portrait compare with earlier photographs of Truth?
  • What might the studio setting and furniture suggest about how she wanted to be portrayed?
  • Why might an elderly activist still want to be photographed and circulated publicly?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Sojourner Truth on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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