Figures of Empire: Slavery and Portraiture in Eighteenth-Century Atlantic Britain

by Esther Chadwick

The rise of the British Empire during the eighteenth century, fueled by enslaved labor on plantations in the North Atlantic world, contributed to a period of economic and cultural growth in Britain. It also brought unprecedented numbers of Africans and people of African and African-Caribbean descent, both enslaved and free, to the British mainland. Figures of Empire explored the impact of these developments on the most ubiquitous artistic genre of the time: the portrait.

In eighteenth-century Britain, portraits were a principal means of self-representation. Sitters conveyed information about themselves in a variety of ways—through clothing, setting, props, and often also in relation to subordinate figures, such as servants or slaves. In many cases, these figures were modeled after life; however, in the eighteenth century, they were rarely recognized as subjects in their own right. By contrast, this exhibition challenged the viewer to consider all of the figures depicted within a given portrait as individuals with histories and as “figures of empire”—as people whose lives were shaped by British imperialism and the institution of transatlantic slavery. Figures of Empire asked visitors to think again about what exactly a portrait is and how the answer to this question might change over time.

25 pages, ebook

Published December 14, 2014