The Old Plantation owned by Colonial Williamsburg Foundation may well be one of the most recognizable folk-art paintings in America. It has been widely reproduced in publications and educational texts for more than 50 years as "the best-known surviving 18th century depiction of slaves in America." How unique it is to see enslaved people enjoying themselves without any white folks to interfere. But who painted it? And had it come to Colonial Williamsburg?
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation tasked Susan P. Shames, decorative arts librarian, PhD in American civilization, and genealogist to investigate the artist and the provenance of the painting. The path of investigation required that she use her decorative arts skills, her librarian skills, her historian skills and her genealogical skills all at the same time to unravel the mystery of the artist and the subjects of the painting.
It took impressive skills of analysis and attention to detail to find the right John Rose and winnow down a universe of 50 slaves to a pool of 18 possible identities for the enslaved people shown in the painting. While her intent was to uncover the hidden history of a particular work of art, she also uncovers the hidden history of enslaved people owned by the artist.
She has identified the painter as John Rose, husband to second wife Mary Capers Ladson, one of four John Roses of Beaufort District. Shames used wills, inventories, census records, mortgages, petitions, and other legal documents relating to John Rose (the artist) to try to identify individual slaves. She posits that the 12 enslaved people depicted in the painting are likely: Ansell, Cain, Dianna, Dick, Hagar, Hamon, Isaac, Maryann, Mingo, Peter, Phillis, Quilla, Sabina, Satyra, Solomon, Tom, Young Tom, and/or Tybee.
Read the fascinating story of how to unravel an art history mystery in The Old Plantation: The Artist Revealed by Susan P. Shames Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2010. The book is available in the BDC Research Room as well as from the Local History sections.
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