Artist Gale Fulton Ross with her painting, 'Modern Sojourner.' Photo: Courtesy of the Malden Public library/ Converse Art Galleries
MALDEN, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Malden Public Library has acquired a new painting from a local artist that showcases a modern twist on a historical figure.
The painting by artist Gale Fulton Ross, who grew up in Malden, is titled 'Modern Sojourner.'
"Ross' interpretation of what Sojourner Truth, the famed Black abolitionist, would look like as a modern Black woman if we were to meet her today," Malden Public Library Director Dora St. Martin said.
St. Martin said the painting is now on display in the Converse Memorial Building, and is the centerpiece of an exhibit at the library about the abolitionist's connection to Malden.
"It's really interesting because you think of Sojourner Truth as this great abolitionist and speaker and lecturer, but when she came to Malden she came to visit friends," St. Martin said.
Fulton Ross moved to New York City in 1971 where she became a successful artist, but her first work was actually shown in Malden. "She said that one of her first exhibits was that a librarian put one of her sketches on the library door," St. Martin said.
WBZ NewsRadio's Carl Stevens (@CarlWBZ) reports.
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