Fashioning the Self in Slavery and Freedom
@FashioningSelf
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Parsons School of Design
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I couldn’t think of two better positions to make my next career move!
Meet the newest Assistant Professor of Black Visual Culture at
@parsonsdesign
. During my first year at Parsons, I will hold a joint appointment as a Fellow in History of Art and Visual Culture at the Costume Institute at the
@metmuseum
.
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Black and brown employees often labor in art spaces as docents, safeguarding artworks while providing guidance and answering the questions of museum patrons. They are central to the functioning of museums, but their presences are overlooked and their contributions to our…
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This painting, titled "Portrait of a Young Lady, a Free Person of Colour," was created by the Swiss portraitist Jean Baptiste Bonjour in 1852. It captures the grace and pared-down elegance of a young black girl in a emerald green gown. Bonjour was known to have only worked in…
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Slavery was rooted in violence and intimacy. The children of enslavers and the enslaved sometimes grew up in the same households with minimal social distance. Affective bonds developed alongside the constant threat of violence and separation from kith and kin. Last weekend, I…
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We unfortunately do not know the name of the African American couple (or siblings?) in this collodion print. The young lady is wearing a silk damask dress; the young man is also wearing a new morning coat with his silk tie. Based on the photographer's embossed branding, we know…
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UPDATE: The man in this photo is Joseph Wesley "Wes" Grant. The woman beside Wes is probably one of his sisters. Wes's parents, Thomas and Patsy, moved to Missouri from Kentucky after Thomas served in the Union during the Civil War, where they raised their family (and where this…
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Though I could focus my analysis on the young woman's madras headwrap or pelerine, since I more often focus on the dress of enslaved people in archival photos. What captivates my attention the most is her intense gaze, searing with a mixture of anger and disgust. In the early…
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The work of lesser-known artist Laura Wheeling Waring takes center stage in The Harlem Renaissance and Transnational Modernism at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Despite not being the most well-known figure today, Waring was the leading black female portraitist during the peak of…
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This is a photograph of an Emancipation Day celebration on June 19, 1900 in Eastwoods Park in Austin, Texas. A group of six well-dressed formerly enslaved individuals stand proudly before the photographer Grace Murray Stephenson, a young, white woman who lived nearby. Her…
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This candid photo was taken around 1905 and captures a casual embrace between two unidentified black women in what seems to be a forest or orchard. It is archived in the Loewentheil Collection of African-American Photographs. Handwriting on the back indicates their names as…
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This portrait depicts a young Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, who was born in London in 1875 to a white British mother and a Krio father from Sierra Leone. At age seven, he sat for several painters at the Croydon Art Club. Here he is depicted wearing a cap and tunic, although it's worth…
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Harriet Powers is considered the mother of African American story quilt tradition. She was born enslaved in 1837 near Athens, Georgia. Two of her surviving quilts are now on display together for the first time at the "Fabric of a Nation" show at the
@mfaboston
.
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The centerpiece of my exhibition is "Sophia Velucia in Conversation with Madam C. J. Walker" by artist
@marysibande
. Sibande’s artwork has revolved around the fictional character Sophie, the artist’s alter-ego, who is exhibited as a life-sized mannequin.
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In October 1887, African American photographer James Presley Ball moved to Helena, Montana and set up his studio J. P. Ball & Son. While there, Ball became involved in Helena's political scene, leading to his nomination for the position of county coroner in 1894, which he…
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This family portrait captures an African American mother and her daughter seated gracefully, their hats resting in their laps. The patriarch stands proudly between them, completing the familial triad. This photograph is believed to have been taken in 1905, possibly in a portrait…
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Thomas Downing, also known as the "New York Oyster King," was a African American restaurateur and abolitionist until his death in 1866. He operated a renowned oyster bar that attracted elite white customers near the New York Stock Exchange. In addition to his business success,…
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This painting depicts an exquisitely dressed black couple in the 1830s. The gentleman sports a white beaver top hat and frock coat, and the lady is adorned with a feathered bonnet, a pale yellow dress with a matching parasol. Both are impeccably attired in line with Eurocentric…
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This photo depicts the 1905 Emancipation Day held in Richmond, Virginia, poignantly the former capital of the Confederacy. It depicts a gathering of African Americans united in the celebration of freedom, a precursor to our now federally recognized Juneteenth. The photograph…
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This painting portrays a gathering of people joyously celebrating a wedding in the Virgin Islands circa 1850. In the foreground, the groom dons European suiting, reflecting the influence of colonial encounters in the nineteenth century. However, the women are adorned in…
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Maritcha Remond Lyons was an African American educator, suffragist, and civic rights leader. Her parents Albro Lyons Sr. and Mary Joseph Lyons had an ambrotype taken of her (and themselves and her sister Pauline) around 1860, capturing her as a young girl. It's possible that her…
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Research has uncovered the first name of the sitter in this artwork as Isabella, through photographs and references found in the family archive of the artist Simon Maris. However, her last name remains unknown. Maris created this portrait around 1906. Since then, the painting has…
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The Sibyl Agrippa, also known as Sibyl Aegyptia, is an enigmatic figure depicted in various artworks, often associated with Egypt and its wisdom. Initially portrayed as pale-skinned in the fifteenth century, she later depicted as a black woman in the seventeenth century. The…
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The enslaved boy Bélizaire was depicted in a painting with the Frey family in New Orleans in 1837. Afterward, he was later sold and removed from the painting. The artwork changed hands several times and underwent restoration, eventually revealing his image. This journey concluded…
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This photo, taken around 1902 by photographer William Bullard, features Betty and Willis Coles of Worcester, Massachusetts. Fast forward to 2013, historian and collector Frank Morrill discovered this photo among an impressive collection of over 230 portraits of African Americans…
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The Danish "Golden Age" painter Wilhelm Marstrand created this portrait in the summer of 1857 in Frederiksberg Garden in Copenhagen. The painting features Justina, a black nanny from Saint Thomas in the Danish West Indies, flanked by her two charges Emily and Annie Marstrand, who…
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@mygirlspetty
@mygirlspetty
It was purchased by the
@PDXArtMuseum
for an exhibition on African Americans in photography titled "Representing."
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This is a photo of nine African American coeds in 1899 at Atlanta University—now Clark Atlanta University. It was taken by prolific black photographer Thomas Askew for W. E. B. Du Bois' 1900 American Negro exposition in Paris, whose purpose was to challenge scientific racists'…
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This 1793 portrait depicts the courier of the Comte de Rochambeau, subtly emphasizing his role with an indiscreetly tucked letter in his waistband, which intriguingly doubles as a fashion accessory. The curiously tied neckerchief and the delicate pink ribbon in his hat add a dash…
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This reel is narrated by the brilliant Elizabeth Way whose exhibition on African-American fashion designer Ann Lowe recently opened at
@WinterthurMuse
.
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These are images of Cheyney McKnight from
@MommasHistory
who was recently featured in this Vogue spread. Reflecting on her penchant for mixing historical silhouettes with modern textiles like Dutch wax prints, McKnight said, "[i]f my ancestors could dress …
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In his "Project Diaspora" series, artist Omar Victor Diop reimagines portraits of black historical figures, shedding light on lesser-known narratives of people from the African Diaspora. Diop challenges stereotypes by depicting individuals who defied societal expectations,…
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Have you heard of Robert Earl Paige? Paige is one of the most important living African American textile designers and it's high time that he gets his first solo show in New York. You can see a selection of his work in "Power to the People," curated by the designer Duro Olowu.
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This is a carte-de-visite dating from the 1880s of a woman in Fort-de-France, Martinique. It is not a keepsake, but an artifact created to exoticize colonial "subjects" for consumption in metropolitan France. The woman is wearing a bustled white gown and copious costume jewelry.…
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W. E. B. Du Bois’ early life shaped his self-fashioning into a race man. This is a photograph of Du Bois at university, shortly after leaving his childhood home in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Even as an undergrad, Du Bois understood what it meant to take up space with his…
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Bill Pickett was an African American cowboy, rodeo performer, and actor born in the freedmen's town Jenks Branch, Texas in 1870. Pickett gained fame for his rodeo tricks and stunts, and he performed with The Pickett Brothers Bronco Busters and Rough Riders Association. He later…
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This photo, taken on June 9, 1865, depicts a group of newly freed African American men and children at Haxall's Mill along the Kanawha Canal in Richmond, Virginia, with the ruins of the city in the background. A Union soldier captured this moment of hope and resilience after…
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Eastman Johnson's 1862 painting "A Ride for Liberty" is a powerful abolitionist image portraying three African Americans—a father, mother, and child—on a horse galloping across a barren battlefield. Their gazes symbolize different perspectives: the father looks ahead to a hopeful…
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An 1899 photo of the Sisters of the Holy Family in New Orleans. It was included W. E. B. Du Bois' American Negro exhibition in Paris the following year.
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I am excited to share the publication of my article on W. E. B. Du Bois's engagement with fashion and photography in the most recent issue of
@vestoj_journal
.
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During the final stages of the Civil War, Harper's Weekly launched a campaign to raise funds for schools for formerly enslaved children in New Orleans. As part of this campaign, they published a series of portraits titled "Emancipated Slaves—White and Colored" with the aim of…
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In “Tailoring Freedom," artist Sasha Huber made an important sartorial intervention in the Zealy daguerreotypes
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I live in Crown Heights, Brooklyn—sometimes referred as the "Little Caribbean"—where the West Indian Day Parade is held. I attend it annually.
In the Anglophone Caribbean, Carnivals often marked harvest season, distinguishing then from pre-Lenten celebrations in the Catholic…
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These images, skillfully crafted by Cepéda Brunson using AI, highlight the liberating potential of artificial intelligence in addressing the scarcity of affirming images of black people in historical archives. While African Americans played a pivotal role in shaping the Old West,…
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Peter Hooper, born in 1897 in Fernandina Beach, Florida, defied racism and honed his magical skills, earning renown as the Second Houdini, or Black Houdini. Alongside his wife Princess Elizabeth, a mind reader and fortune-teller, he embarked on extensive travels, dazzling…
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The curators of "Gilded Age Newport in Color" prominently featured this photograph of the illustrious Alonzo Van Horne in their exhibition's promotional material. Alonzo, who graduated from Howard University Dental College in 1896, holds the distinction of being Rhode Island’s…
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To me, this photo looks like an album cover or an image from a fashion spread. This is, however, an early 20th-century image by Lincoln, NE-based African American photographer John Johnson that depicts two black women playfully dressed in men's clothing, brandishing playing cards…
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"Gilded Age Newport in Color" is partnership between Rhode Island Black Heritage Society and the Preservation Society of Newport County. It is open until June 30!
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This embroidered panel in the
@burrellcollect
unveils a dark chapter of British history, depicting a well-dressed lady from the early 1700s with an enslaved African boy as her page. The boy wears a yellow livery, complete with a red hat and stockings. These individuals were…
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This 1859 daguerreotype features Isadora Noe Freeman seated on the left and Mary Christiana Freeman standing on the right, holding a large hat.
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This powerful photograph was taken on "Old Slave Day" in Southern Pines, North Carolina on April 8, 1937. The event was an annual gathering during which formerly enslaved individuals shared their experiences and recollections with an apparently diverse audience of thousands of…
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Are you familiar with Afro-Brazilian painter Maria Auxiliadora da Silva? If not, I recommend you delve into Hanayrá Negreiros' insightful contribution to the issue of the
@infs_journal
that I had the privilege of guest editing. Even if you are already acquainted with Maria…
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The title of this painting "Fruits of Early Industry and Economy" implies that the businessmen—presumably the owner of the dockyard outside the window and the country estate over the mantel—has enabled his family to enjoy a life of sumptuous fashion and furnishing. The young…
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This cabinet card features the University Singers of New Orleans during their time in New York City, circa 1877-1881. Likely modeled after the Fisk Jubilee Singers, the group traveled the country to raise funds for the La Teche Seminary and Colored Orphans' Home. Managed by…
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W. E. B. Du Bois included this photograph in his American Negro exhibit at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris. These six women comprised the executive board of the Women’s League of Newport, Rhode Island. Founder Mary H. Dickerson is positioned at the top center.…
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I'm honored to be a speaker at this symposium, which is inspired by the upcoming exhibition "Ann Lowe: American Couturier." My talk will be focused on the legacy of Lowe who could trace her sewing skills all to the way to her enslaved grandmother.
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Can you identify W. E. B. Du Bois in this photo of the Great Barrington High School Class of 1884? Du Bois, known as Willie in his youth, was the only black graduate that year. A few months after Du Bois's birth, Great Barrington allocated $2000 to establish the town's first…
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The impact of this miniature watercolor transcends its modest dimensions, potentially providing a wealth of historical and cultural insights. It depicts an identified black woman standing at a profile. Based on her hair as well as the low armhole, tight sleeves, and what looks…
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Captured in 1864, this ambrotype immortalizes John and Sarah (Williams) Young of Hallowell, Maine. Perhaps a wedding portrait, it marked a second marriage for both. Sarah, once married to Thomas Williams, labored as a domestic alongside her late husband in the household of a…
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The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism picks up where Posing Modernity left off. Denise Murrell, curator at large at the
@metmuseum
, has fostered fruitful dialogue, as the theses of two exhibitions complement each other.
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This portrait of Christiana Carteaux Bannister is featured in "Gilded Age Newport in Color." Known as Madame Carteaux, she was a pioneering entrepreneur, hairdresser, and abolitionist from Rhode Island. Born to African American and Narragansett Indian parents, she moved to Boston…
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Liza Taylor is the subject of this 1865 carte-de-visite. She was born enslaved in 1783 in Richmond, Virginia. At age five, she arrived in New Brunswick, where she worked as an enslaved domestic in the household of James Peters. In 1803, she fled with James Taylor, a free black…
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Juan de Pareja's inclusion of himself in "The Calling of Saint Matthew" (1661) is the first known self-portrait by a black person, at least in the Western tradition of portraiture.
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UPDATE: One of my insightful followers
@azzah1
pointed out that the photograph I shared earlier this week drew inspiration from Francis Davis Millet's 1883 painting "Reading the Story of Oenone." Millet sold the painting to the then brand new
@DIADetroit
in 1883, making it their…
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Worcester, Massachusetts-based photographer William Bullard captured the photo of this young African American family. Though himself white, he most often photographed his African American and Native American neighbors in the Beaver Brook community...
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Zendaya in Carolina Herrera pays homage to Venus and Serena, referencing their iconic 1998 Vogue shoot 🖤🤍
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In 1996,
@Hanes
recognized the difficulties Black women encountered when searching for hosiery that matched their skin tones. To address this issue, they introduced new colors and secured Tina Turner as the spokesperson for their Silk Reflections line. This groundbreaking…
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This is a photograph of an Emancipation Day celebration on June 19, 1900 in Eastwoods Park in Austin, Texas. A group of six well-dressed formerly enslaved individuals stand proudly before the photographer Grace Murray Stephenson, a young, white woman who lived nearby.
1
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This watercolor titled "Edinburgh Milkmaid with Butter Churn" by celebrated Scottish artist David Allan was just acquired by the
@NatGalleriesSco
. Little else known about the painting, but it is believed to be one of the first images of a black subject ever created in Scotland.
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The estate of André Leon Talley will be auctioned at Christie's on Wednesday. The proceeds are going to Talley’s home churches Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem and the Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in his hometown Durham, North Carolina.
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This weekend, I had the opportunity to participate in the Pinkster celebration at the
@weeksville
, where the Pinkster Players, a group of black historical interpreters, breathed new life into this time-honored tradition. Pinkster is a spring festival that took place in late May…
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Here's a photo from my talk on my research on Du Bois last Thursday for the Preservation Society of Newport County. I was there as part of the programming for "Gilded Age Newport in Color." Tomorrow, I'll delve deeper into this fascinating exhibition, which explores how Newport's…
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This oil painting is attributed to Víctor Patricio de Landaluze, a painter originally from Spain who later resided in Cuba. Landaluze is best known for his idealized portrayals of plantation life and folkloric depictions of Havana's Afro-Cuban community. In this particular…
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Black men with Scottish heritage have found innovative ways to seamlessly blend their Scottish roots with their African heritage, which is often represented by a kente kilt. Additionally, those seeking to tap into the rugged allure of Scottish Highland culture have chosen to don…
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I prefer sharing photographs in which the sitter is identified by name. The name of the woman in this cabinet card is Malenda Polk. She wears a lacy white dress with a high collar. Based on her dress, this photo probably dates from the turn of the century. She is standing in…
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Share this post with anyone who underestimates the importance of textile history!
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This artwork by Kenyan artist Wangechi Mutu is a cast-bronze sculpture that captures a figure in shavasana, or the "corpse pose," at the end of yoga practice. The sculpture's attention to detail is striking, from the figure's delicate high-heeled shoes—one of which has slipped…
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The dress code for this year’s Met Gala is “in honor of Karl [Lagerfeld].” 😑 I, however, am not inspired by Lagerfeld, who was fatphobic, notoriously two-faced, and whose family had documented connections to the Nazi regime.
#metgala
#2023metgala
#fashion
#karllagerfeld
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"Hog Hammock...is the last intact Gullah Geechee community in Georgia, and its people are direct descendants of enslaved West and Central Africans."
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It's an honor for my work to be featured in
@SmallAxeProject
, the premier academic journal devoted to Caribbean Studies. This research is heavily indebted to the scholarship of
@jmjafrx
,
@profsophiewhite
,
@amelia_rauser
,
@plbhalbert
, and others!
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In Alberto da Veiga Guignard's 1937 painting "Os Noivos" ("Newlyweds"), the groom's Brazilian military uniform and the bride's floral wedding attire create a striking contrast. The purposeful alignment of the Brazilian flag and the Sacred Heart of Jesus on either side of the…
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Have you heard of Althea McNish? She is finally getting much-deserved recognition in a retrospective of her textile designs at the
@WMGallery
. McNish is arguably the first black British fashion arbiter to garner international acclaim.
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French portrait artist Auguste Edouart immortalized an enslaved woman named Dalmany whose full-length silhouette he cut on February 6, 1844 in New Orleans. Dalmany was given her name from her enslaver Mr. Dalman, who served as the captain of the steamboat ship Da Soto, which…
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This is a tintype of a dapper black man donning a suit, bowler, and cane. A gilded frame protects and beautifies the image. Regrettably, his identity remains unknown, but his suave and polished appearance has left an impression on the world. Fashion is not only about clothing,…
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This 1863 satirical drawing lampooned the growing consumptive power of African Americans following the Emancipation Proclamation. It depicts a white shoeshine boy reluctantly polishing the shoes of a black dandy on a street corner. The boy explains to his grinning companion that…
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Du Bois started as one of two African-American students in Great Barrington High School. He was determined to surpass his white peers academically, especially after the other black student dropped out. He became the first black person to graduate from his high school in 1884. At…
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Artist Gaston de Pontalba hailed from a wealthy Creole family as the son of Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba, a prominent real estate mogul in 19th-century New Orleans. He was born and raised in France, but was captivated by New Orleans's character and characters. He is…
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In preparation for my exhibtion at
@HerronSchool
, I've enjoyed learning about Indianapolis' black history. There was a noteworthy black population in the city before the Great Migration. For example, this 1874 tintype shows Lucy Jane Mace Tyree with her son Charles William Tyree.
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In 1946, African American sculptor and graphic artist Elizabeth Catlett created this linoleum cut print of Phillis Wheatley, titled "In Phillis Wheatley, I proved intellectual equality in the midst of slavery." This artwork is a black feminist reclamation of the medium of…
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Hot off the presses! My contribution to Guernica's Clothing Interrupted issue is out. In this article, I make a case for the importance of incorporating the contributions of enslaved people into fashion history.
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In 1837, a new image of Phillis Wheatley was created for a black audience and published in the Revue des colonies. The journal, directed by abolitionist Cyrille Bissette, aimed to highlight achievements of people of African descent. Wheatley's posthumous depiction in the journal…
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This is less an indictment of Pharrell or a review of the collection. But, if you're wondering I felt about it...I didn't love it, but I also didn't hate it.
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@lingerie_addict
Agreed 🙌🏿 Thank you for sharing your insights! I agree with your assessment that the outfits depicted lean more towards 1840s fashion, and your observation about the potential exaggeration or caricature in the shortened skirt, small parasol, and daytime veil.
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A 17th-century double portrait potentially depicting a black and white woman as equals will remain in the UK and will soon be displayed to the public...
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Fashioning the Shelf: I highly recommend two recently published books that delve into the intersection of blackness and fashion history. Rediscovering Portraiture by British opera singer
@PeterBrathwaite
showcases his remarkable
#gettychallenge
recreations, complemented by…
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Today, I start teaching an undergraduate survey of the history of fashion at
@parsonsdesign
. Check out the website that I created for the course to learn more about the readings and assignments.
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Though all of their identities remain unknown, this carte de visite depicts a black woman surrounded by what might be a white family. The photographer, Seth C. Landon, was active in New Milford, CT from about 1865 to 1875, during which time the city had a small African American…
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This portrait of John Moore, Jr. dates from 1800, making him 26-years-old here. Moore was born free in Boston where he worked as a barber for most of his life...
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The identity of the woman in this tintype remains unsubstantiated, but many have noted the striking resemblance between her and Dr. Sarah Loguen Fraser, a groundbreaking figure in American medicine. After graduating from Syracuse University College of Medicine in 1876, Fraser…
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