“Our page, Harry”

From the collections of PVMA • Digital image © Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Assoc. • Image use information

About this item

George Fuller (1822-1884) of Deerfield, Massachusetts, spent three winters working in the Deep South as an itinerant portrait painter. He also produced many sketches of enslaved people and southern plantation life. Fuller wrote to his sister Harriet in 1858, that he was “keeping bachelors hall and have a cheerful fireside of our own. A good looking yellow boy takes care of it for us.” The boy of whom Fuller wrote was probably the subject for a sketch he drew in February of “Our Page, Harry.” The term “yellow” referred to people of mixed White and Black blood. Fuller was generally silent on the subject of slavery in his journals and in letters home. A rare glimpse of his views appeared when he wrote indignantly about an auction he witnessed in 1850. One of the people sold was a young woman who, like “Harry,” was of mixed parentage. Fuller wrote that “The blood of the white and dark races is at enmity in her veins…about 3/4 white says one dealer. Three fourths blessed, a fraction accursed. She is under thy feet, white man…Is she not your sister?”

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Details

Item typeArtwork
Drawing
CreatorFuller, George
Date1858
PlaceDeerfield, Massachusetts; Alabama
TopicArt, Music, Literature, Crafts
African American, Black Life
Slavery, Indenture
EraNational Expansion and Reform, 1816–1860
MaterialPaper
Process/FormatDrawing; Graphite, pencil
Dimension detailsHeight: 5.50 in Width: 10.75 in
Catalog #1994.20.03.48
View this item in our curatorial database →
Fuller, George. Our page, Harry. 1858. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/1994-20-03-48/. Accessed on December 6, 2024.

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