William Wilson takes his readers on a guided tour of an undisclosed art collection in his monthly contribution to the Anglo-African Magazine, the “Afric-American Picture Gallery.” Wilson published this series in 1859, when the United States was on the cusp of the Civil War and when slavery was the issue of the times. Wilson’s picture gallery contains descriptions of art objects all pertaining to the idea of slavery. This gallery is intriguing because Wilson does not mention the location of the gallery or the names of the artists whose work is featured. Pictures five and six— “The Underground Railroad”— are particularly intriguing because of the secrecy surrounding the operations of the underground as well as the unique way in which the images are depicted.
The underground railroad was not a popular art topic prior to the Civil War. Sketches and prints featuring the underground railroad were sometimes circulated. Henry Box Brown’s panorama, Mirror of Slavery, is said to have featured a scene of the underground railroad (Burns, Davis 336) However, depictions of the underground railroad were not all-to-common. It was not until after the Civil War that African Americans were included in fine art. (Burns, Davis 536) Therefore, the presence of these pictures in Wilson’s …show more content…
brawn” argument, on which he takes sides with “brains.” Wilson is one to believe knowledge is power. In fact, he was an educator who dedicated his time to teaching blacks. (“ Abolitionist Biographies”) The aspect of slavery that particularly appalled Wilson was the dumbing down of slaves. Slaveholder did everything in their power to keep their slaves as uneducated and unknowledgeable as possible. As more articles were printed about the underground railroad, slave owners become increasingly concerned that these reports could spur their slaves into action (Foner 215). This likely another motivation for Wilson: to educate blacks still in slavery that there is a way
The underground railroad was not a popular art topic prior to the Civil War. Sketches and prints featuring the underground railroad were sometimes circulated. Henry Box Brown’s panorama, Mirror of Slavery, is said to have featured a scene of the underground railroad (Burns, Davis 336) However, depictions of the underground railroad were not all-to-common. It was not until after the Civil War that African Americans were included in fine art. (Burns, Davis 536) Therefore, the presence of these pictures in Wilson’s …show more content…
brawn” argument, on which he takes sides with “brains.” Wilson is one to believe knowledge is power. In fact, he was an educator who dedicated his time to teaching blacks. (“ Abolitionist Biographies”) The aspect of slavery that particularly appalled Wilson was the dumbing down of slaves. Slaveholder did everything in their power to keep their slaves as uneducated and unknowledgeable as possible. As more articles were printed about the underground railroad, slave owners become increasingly concerned that these reports could spur their slaves into action (Foner 215). This likely another motivation for Wilson: to educate blacks still in slavery that there is a way