Sharon Gibson MorganAug 15, 2023

For more than 100 years, his image in a Louisiana family portrait had been obscured. Now that the painting has been restored and his presence acknowledged, Bélizaire, an enslaved young man of African descent, is prominently displayed at the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art. Gift Article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/14/video/belizaire-frey-children-portrait-met.html?unlocked_article_code=9Q8e66G7g-ji5JAm5DIYiLnIA9CKV9VRAsnA3gwyKOXjswkPxuttM4h-ZRDga50IUT13oIBuaeipPXpfnSza_s4bC2RrXI3w931bl8Jh7QHAo-SGyKlLee7Bo_dquShHnVagcfEVWEVNx2I9b9y6BPYApPVY8nwxaR-kEFq0V2Wu4fjrUKG3IcPnuCkkqPbE6qwAuBmpO2ICovZcOlaSUypgaUFRyz-c9nLPx7FhQzYWugOYCvMyytZCAiBj5IHvv4UAC_ZsoCggLayBl8qDPw99mp5bi5HyuTYtDMjYbkU9rin4evyYzXLIexSwEvjnuLV5adTSvvYecBJX-J3zk3AYtyyfJ-FSkL2WtMFgtUPjCfZ5goZsKWw5CIu4&smid=url-share

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‘His Name Was Bélizaire’: Rare Portrait of Enslaved Child Arrives at the Met

The Met recently acquired “Bélizaire and the Frey Children,” a 19th-century Louisiana portrait with a secret: For over 100 years, the image of an enslaved youth was erased. This is his story.

The New York Times
Show threadAilbheAug 17, 2023
@SharonGibson3 the central white person with the short skirt is meant to be the mother?
Show threadLauraAug 17, 2023

@artbyailbhe @SharonGibson3 No, the Met's description of the painting says that it shows "Bélizaire (ca. 1822-after 1860), positioned above the three younger children in his care" so none of them are adults. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/898196

The NYT article adds that "Bélizaire was 15. He was the only person in the painting to survive to adulthood. Two Frey sisters, Elizabeth and Léontine, died the same year, likely of yellow fever. Their brother Frederick died a few years later."

Attributed to Jacques Guillaume Lucien Amans | Bélizaire and the Frey Children | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Commissioned by Frederick Frey, New Orleans, LA; to his wife, Marie Celeste Coralie D’Aunoy Frey, New Orleans, in 1837; to her daughter Theodora Frey Pasteur; to Alice Pasteur; by descent to Audrey Hess Grasser; gift of Mr

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Show threadSharon Gibson Morgan
@lauravivanco @artbyailbhe You're right. I will make the correction for the alt-text.
Aug 17, 2023 at 12:12pmWeb