Mastodon Feed
Boosted by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your weary 'net denizen"):
LauraJG@deacon.social ("Laura G, Sassy 70’s") wrote:
Your art history post for today: by Thomas Stuart Smith (1815–1869), The Pipe of Freedom, 1869, oil on canvas, 42x30.9 inches (106.8x78.7 cm), The Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum, Stirling, UK. Look closely. Notice a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation pasted on the wall behind the man. It partially covers an advertisement for a slave auction. Freedom has replaced bondage. #arthistory #painting #oilpainting #emancipation #freedom #liberty
From the museum: ‘The Pipe of Freedom was painted in 1869 by Thomas Stuart Smith – the founder of what is today the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum. A prolific artist and abolitionist, there are three surviving portraits of black men by Stuart Smith in our collection.
At the first glance The Pipe of Freedom shines with the warmth of the colours and the relaxed stance of the man in the foreground. His red paisley shawl wraps him in a contentment reflected in the half smile on his lips as he lights the long-stemmed clay pipe. But even the choice of the subject was unusual – at this time black people were more often painted as servants. A closer look at the background also hints that this picture is more than just a simple portrait - it is a political statement too.
The brick wall behind the man is covered with posters, including a yellow one publicising the sale of slaves. This has been covered by a copy of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which declared in 1863 "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free."
Thomas Stuart Smith submitted The Pipe of Freedom to the Royal Academy Exhibition in London in 1869. It was rejected. Suspecting that politics were involved, Smith went on to exhibit it elsewhere alongside other works deemed unsuitable or too risqué by the Academy.’
