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Slave auctions were common occurrences in the antebellum South. As portrayed by the artist Taylor, the sale of a human being was conducted as a routine matter of business. The subject of this painting is George, identified by a posted sign as a runaway slave. Slave dealers and other slaves, perhaps members of his own family, surround him. As punishment, captured runaway slaves were often sold, and this practice discouraged other slaves from fleeing. This sympathetic portrayal of American slaves was made at a time when antislavery sentiment was increasing in the North, due in part to the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The slave clothing in this painting is of particular interest. George is dressed in a red skirt-like garment, perhaps African in origin. The women have African-style head wraps and two slaves wear clog type shoes. | |||
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An
American Slave Market, by Taylor, 1852
Click image to enlarge. Copyright 2002 The Chicago Historical Society |
Image 14 of 25
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