Met Museum Acquires Rare 19th-Century Portrait of Enslaved Child
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has acquired a rare 19th-century portrait titled "Bélizaire and the Frey Children," depicting a 15-year-old enslaved boy with the family that enslaved him. The painting, attributed to Jacques Guillaume Lucien Amans, is considered the first naturalistic portrait of a named Black subject in the American antebellum South. The figure of Bélizaire was painted over around 1900 but has now been restored to its original composition. The portrait will be displayed at The Met this fall, shedding light on the individualistic depiction of an enslaved person and the family of their enslaver.