Eyre Crowe’s slavery paintings in context

November 26, 2014
'Slaves Waiting for Sale' by Eyre Crowe (1861). Heinz collection, Washington DC Published in Guy C. Elroy, 'Facing History: the Black Image in American Art, 1710-1940'

‘Slaves Waiting for Sale’ by Eyre Crowe (1861). Heinz collection, Washington DC Published in Guy C. Elroy, ‘Facing History: the Black Image in American Art, 1710-1940’

A fascinating article by Maurie D. McInnes, professor of art history at the University of Virginia, is available online. It explores Eyre Crowe’s 1853 trip to Richmond, Virginia, and the legacy of the sketches and paintings that he made depicting the slave trade there. His most famous slavery painting, Slaves Waiting for Sale: Richmond, Virginia, was exhibited in London in 1861.

McInnis, Maurie D. “Eyre Crowe’s Images of the Slave Trade.” Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 4 Sep. 2013. Web. 26 Nov. 2014.

 

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Posted by Kathryn Summerwill

New book featuring Eyre Crowe’s slavery pictures

January 3, 2012

Cover of Maurie D. McInnes, 'Slaves Waiting for Sale' (University of Chicago Press, 2011)Maurie D. McInnes has just published Slaves Waiting for Sale: Abolitionist Art and the American Slave Trade (Chicago University Press, 2011), which is a detailed and lavishly illustrated examination of Eyre Crowe’s picture Slaves Waiting For Sale (1861), as compared with other contemporary artworks relating to slavery in the American South.

Eyre Crowe visited the southern states of America in 1852-1853 and was intrigued and appalled by the slave trade there. His experiences led him to create a series of sketches and paintings intended to further the abolitionist cause. Each of these are described in more detail in the ‘Slavery Pictures’ part of this website.

1 Comment | Pictures, Slavery | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Kathryn Summerwill