ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A piece of a vandalized Harriet Tubman statue has been returned to a museum in Annapolis about a month after it was stolen.
Someone took the vévé, or staff, of the monumental Tubman statue, "Araminta with Rifle and Vévé" back in December. The statue stands outside the Banneker-Douglass Museum in Annapolis. The Annapolis Police Department searched for the missing staff following the theft, and put out surveillance video of some people of interest.
On Jan. 25, the staff was returned to the museum. Executive Director Chanel C. Johnson and Curator of Collections Schillica Howard retrieved the piece from the Annapolis Police Department station after investigation efforts led to its recovery.
“Words cannot describe how relieved we are to get back this precious artwork by Dr. Joyce J. Scott. I want to thank the Annapolis Police Department, Delegate Shaneka Henson, Dr. Scott, Goya Contemporary Gallery, museum staff, and the community-at-large for working together to get the missing work back to the museum,” Johnson said in a press statement.
Damage to the vévé is still being assessed, and the museum staff are working with the artist, gallery, and insurance company on a path forward. It is undetermined at this time whether the vévé will be re-installed to the statue.
The Tubman statue was installed in September 2022 and is still on view in front of the museum along Franklin Street as a part of the exhibition The Radical Voice of Blackness Speaks of Resistance and Joy. The artist, Dr. Joyce J. Scott, a MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, is known as the “Queen of Beadwork” for the intricate, handcrafted beading that is featured on the statue. "Araminta with Rifle and Vévé" is on loan from Goya Contemporary Gallery in Baltimore.
