Freemen of Color, Richmond, Virginia
Artist
William Abbott Pratt
(American, born 1818)
CultureAmerican
Dateca. 1850
MediumHand-colored quarter plate daguerreotype (silver plate photograph)
DimensionsOverall, Support (Case, closed): 4 5/8 × 3 3/4 × 3/4 in. (11.7 × 9.5 × 1.9 cm)
Other (Case, opened): 4 5/8 × 7 1/2 × 3/4 in. (11.7 × 19.1 × 1.9 cm)
Other (Case, opened): 4 5/8 × 7 1/2 × 3/4 in. (11.7 × 19.1 × 1.9 cm)
InscribedStamped credit on the velvet case lining
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds given by Christina and Dr. George M. Kemp, and in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank
Object number2001.23
On View
Not on viewLabel Text ProvenanceJackie Napolean Wilson; Christie's, October 4, 2001, Lot 71; Chrysler Museum of Art Purchase, gift of Christina and Dr. George M. Kemp, Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. photography fund, and in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank, 2001. Exhibition History"Hidden Witness African-American Images from the Dawn of Photography to the Civil War," J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, Ca., February 28--June 18, 1995. "Silver Images: The Photography Collection at 25," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., November 5, 2003 - August 2004. "Photography Speaks," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, September 4, 2004 - January 2, 2005. "The World of Photography," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, June 20, 2007 - May 25, 2008 "Portraying a Nation: American Portrait Photography, 1850-2010," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, August 25, 2010 - September 11, 2011. "Photographic Histories," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, May 10 - August 17, 2014. “A Long Arc: Photography and the American South since 1845,” High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA, September 15, 2023 - January 14, 2024; Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA, February 01, 2024 - July 01, 2024; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, September 01, 2024 - January 01, 2025. Published ReferencesAngela M. Pleasants, "Facing History: Images of African-Americans Illuminate a Proud Past," _Smithsonian_ 30, no. 8. (November 1999): 136-141. Jackie Napolean Wilson, _Hidden Witness: African-American Images from the Dawn of Photography to the Civil War_, (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999), 100-101. *The subject is erroneously identified as Frederick A. Douglass by the collector/author of the book. Christie's Photographs, sale 9754, October 4, 2001, no. 71, and illustrated on back cover. Lindsay Pollock. "Art Market Watch," www.artnet.com/Magazine (New York, NY: ArtNet Worldwide Corporation, 2001) 10/05/2001: http://www.artnet.com/magazine/news/pollock/pollock10-5-13.asp. _Virginian-Pilot_ newspaper supplement, Thursday, January 31, 2002, 12. Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 100, fig. 119. Gregory J. Harris and Sarah Kennel, _A Long Arc: Photography and the American South since 1845_ (New York: Aperture with the High Museum of Art, 2023_) 35.
