‘A Bold Effort’: Illuminating images of slavery in the British Empire
A mysterious pair of hands on the edge of a family portrait sparked a campus collaboration resulting in two exhibitions, an international symposium, collections research, painting conservation, teaching from the collections, and public programs — all looking at how slaves were depicted in the British Empire.
The image of the servant or slave whose disembodied hands appear at the lower left side of William Hogarth's "A Family Portrait" was included originally as a symbol of the family's wealth.
