medievalpoc:1800s Week! John Phillip Simpson The Captive Slave (Ira Aldridge as model) England (18
medievalpoc: 1800s Week! John Phillip Simpson The Captive Slave (Ira Aldridge as model) England (1827) Oil on canvas 50 x 40 in. (127 x 101.5 cm) The Art Institute of Chicago The story of this artwork is quite remarkable. The Art Institute of Chicago announced in 2009 that it had acquired a painting that had not been viewed or on display for over 180 years. This is that painting. There is sufficient evidence to assume that this painting was done by Simpson in collaboration with Aldridge as an abolitionist statement. It was first displayed in 1827 at the Royal Academy of Arts Along with this poem: But Ah! what wish can prosper, or what prayer For merchants rich in cargoes of despair -Cowper, 1782 Recommended Reading: “The Captive Slave” by John Simpson (1782-1847): A rediscovered masterpiece Martin Postle The British Art Journal, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Spring 2009), pp. 18-26 Published by: The British Art Journal Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41614836 source source source Previous posts about Ira Aldridge from medievalpoc The entry for “The Captive Slave” in the RA’s 1827 exhibition catalogue, with full quote from the Cowper poem. Very interesting reading contained in the source links in the original post by the incredible @medievalpocAlso just saw the portrait of Ira Aldridge as Othello by James Northcote RA on the Manchester Art Gallery collection pages here. -- source link