John Hesselius
Charles Calvert and His Slave
1760
Scroll
John Hesselius
Charles Calvert and His Slave
1760
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, Unframed: 50 1/4 × 39 7/8 in. (127.6 × 101.3 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Alfred R. and Henry G. Riggs in Memory of General Lawrason Riggs
Object Number
1941.4
A young Charles Calvert (1756-1773) stands proudly in a plumed hat and silk clothing with an as-yet unidentified enslaved child kneeling and looking upwards at him. The child holds a drum while Charles holds drumsticks in his right hand and, with his left, points toward a distant church, possibly the original structure of St. Anne’s in Annapolis. As the
male heir, Charles received an expensive full-length portrait while his sisters, seen nearby, are portrayed in less costly half-length views. This work recalls a European portraiture convention that depicts powerful Europeans with Africans—both free and enslaved—portrayed in subservient poses.
The presence of the enslaved child reflects the reliance of the Maryland upper class on the domestic labor of enslaved individuals for help with everything from cooking and cleaning to caring for children and serving as their companions.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1941; Alfred R. and Henry G. Riggs from their brother, 1940; General Lawrason Riggs, Baltimore, 1926; Loredan Family by descent; Elizabeth Loredan, Asolo, Italy, from her father; Onorio Razolini, Asolo, Italy
At Freedom's Door: Challenging Slavery in Maryland
Painters and Painting in the American South
AMW Reinstallation 2014
American Wing Rotations 2020
American Wing Rotations 2021
American Wing Rotations 2022
Unnamed Figures
American Wing Rotations 2023
American Wing Rotations 2025
'Life Magazine,' 9 Dec 1940. Color reproduction
'Life Magazine,' 28 Feb 1949
Baltimore 'Sunday Sun,' 15 Aug 1954, Magazine Section, p. 8. Reprod.
Baltimore Museum of Art, "A Picture Book," 1955, p.41.
"Art News," XXIV, 13 Apr 1926, p. 2.
"Time," 9 Jul 1956. p. 57, color ill. p. 56.
Baltimore "Sunday Sun," "Object of the Week," magazine sec. 9 Aug 1956
Eliot, Alexander. "Three Hundred Years of American Painting," 1957. p. 12, ill. p. 9.
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'Art in America,' no.1, 1962. p.69, ill. color.
Minneapolis 'Sunday Tribune,' "Picture Magazine," 24 Nov 1963. p. 3
"Two Hundred Years of American Painting" (exh. cat.), City Art Museum of St. Louis. 1 Apr-31 May 1964, ill. p. 1.
Katz, Herbert & Marjorie. "Museums, USA," Doubleday & Co., NY: 1965., ill. p. 29.
Wright, Tatum, McCoubrey, & Smith. "The Arts in America, The Colonial Period," Scribner, NY: 1966, p. 220, pl. 154, p. 223.
Greenfield, K.R. 'The Museum: Its First Half Century.' "Annual 1," BMA, 1966. ill. p. 96.
Alder, Mortimer J., Charles Van Doren & George Ducas, eds, 'The Negro in American Paintings,' series III, "Slaves and Masters 1567-1854," ill. p. 285.
Canaday, John. "The Lives of Painters, Thames and Hudson: London," 1969. repro. vol. 4, pl. 213.
“Slavery on American Soil.” Essay. In Slaves and Masters: 1567-1854, 285. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp., 1972. Reprod.
Richard H. Saunders and Ellen G. Miles, "American Colonial Portraits 1700-1776," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1987, p. 251, no. 81, ill. p. 250.
Robin Simon, "The Portrait in Britain and America," Oxford: Phaidon Press Limited, 1987, no. 149, p. 190, ill.
J. A. Leo Lemay (ed.), "An Early American Reader," Washington, D.C.: United States Information Agency, 1988, ill. p. 601.
Sona K. Johnston, "American Painting 1750-1900," Baltimore: Baltimore Museum of Art, 1983, pp. 75-76, ill. p. 74.
O'Leary, Elizabeth L., "At Beck and Call: the Representation of Domestic Servants in Nineteenth-Century American Painting," Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1996. ill. p. 23.
McInnis, Maurie D. "American Art: Smithsonian American Museum," 'Little of Artistic Merit?: The Problem and Promise of Southern Art History.' Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Summer 2005, Vol. 9, No. 2, ill. p. 13.
Craven, Wayne. 'American Art: History and Culture,' London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd., 2003. p. 104, ill. no. 7.14.
"Constructing Identity in (Post-) Racial America," "Making Connections Interdisciplinary approaches to cultural diversity." Fall 2009, vol. 11, no.1, p.80, ill p.80.
Susan Sharmes, "The Old Plantation: The Artist Revealed," The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2010, ill p.15, p.80.
Carolyn J. Weekley, "Painters and Paintings in the American South," The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2013. p.260
Benskin, Elizabeth, and Suzy Wolffe. "Teacher's Guide to the American Collection". Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Museum of Art, 2014, pages 7 and 14.
Robinson, Franklin A. "Faith & Tobacco: A History of St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish, Prince George's County, Maryland," Washington D.C.: Anchovy Hill Press, 2015, pp.196, ill.
"Eight Hesselius Portraits Found," Art News, Apr. 3, 1926, P. 4; John B. Riggs, "John Hesselius, Limner," Feb. 1949, Pleasants, Artist File, MHS, Baltimore; BMA, A Picture Book, 1955, ill. P. 41;
Alexander Eliot, Three Hundred Years of American Painting, New York: Time Inc, 1957, p. 12, ill. p. 9.
Eloise Spaeth, American Art Museums and Galleries, An Introduction to Looking, New York: Harper and Bros., 1960, p. 5o, ill. p. 49.
Irma Simonton Black, "America in Art-Seen by the Limners," Art in America, vol. 5o, no. 1, 1962, ill. p. 69.
Richard K. Doud, "John Hesselius: His Life and Work,» Master of Arts Thesis, University of Delaware, June 1963, pp. 14, 39, 40, 65-66,86.
Herbert and Marjorie Katz, Museums, USA, New York: Doubleday & Co., 1965, p. 29.
Wright, Tatum, McCoubrey and Smith, The Arts in America, The Colonial Period, New York: Scribner's Sons, 1966, p. 223, ill. pl. 154; Kent Roberts Greenfield, Annual 1, BMA, 1966, ill. p. 96.
John Canaday, The Lives of the Painters, London: Thames and Hudson, 1969, vol. 4, pl. 213. Mortimer J. Adler, Charles Van Doren, and George Ducas, eds., The Negro in American History, "Slaves and Masters 1567-1854," vol. 3, William Benton, 1972, ill. p. 285.
The Vincent Price Treasury of American Art, Waukesha, Wisconsin: Country Beautiful Corporation, 1972, p. 15, ill. p. 14.
Mary M. Starin, "John Hesselius-Limner 1728-1778," Maryland Historical Magazine, Sept. 1980, p. 194
Lemay, J.A. Leo (ed.). Ane Early American Reader. Washington, DC: United States Information Agency, Division for the Study of the United States, 1988. p.601.
Saunders, Richard H., and Ellen G. Miles. American Colonial Portraits: 1700-1776. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1987. p.251.
Simon, Robin. The Portrait in Britain and America, wiht a Biographical Dictionary of Portrait Painters 1680-1914. Oxford: Phaidon, 1987. p.190.
Johnston, Sona K. American Paintings 1750-1900: from the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art. BMA: 1983.
Alexander Eliot, Three Hundred Years of American Painting, New York: Time Inc, 1957, p. 12, ill. p. 9.
Eloise Spaeth, American Art Museums and Galleries, An Introduction to Looking, New York: Harper and Bros., 1960, p. 5o, ill. p. 49.
Irma Simonton Black, "America in Art-Seen by the Limners," Art in America, vol. 5o, no. 1, 1962, ill. p. 69.
Richard K. Doud, "John Hesselius: His Life and Work,» Master of Arts Thesis, University of Delaware, June 1963, pp. 14, 39, 40, 65-66,86.
Herbert and Marjorie Katz, Museums, USA, New York: Doubleday & Co., 1965, p. 29.
Wright, Tatum, McCoubrey and Smith, The Arts in America, The Colonial Period, New York: Scribner's Sons, 1966, p. 223, ill. pl. 154; Kent Roberts Greenfield, Annual 1, BMA, 1966, ill. p. 96.
John Canaday, The Lives of the Painters, London: Thames and Hudson, 1969, vol. 4, pl. 213. Mortimer J. Adler, Charles Van Doren, and George Ducas, eds., The Negro in American History, "Slaves and Masters 1567-1854," vol. 3, William Benton, 1972, ill. p. 285.
The Vincent Price Treasury of American Art, Waukesha, Wisconsin: Country Beautiful Corporation, 1972, p. 15, ill. p. 14.
Mary M. Starin, "John Hesselius-Limner 1728-1778," Maryland Historical Magazine, Sept. 1980, p. 194
Lemay, J.A. Leo (ed.). Ane Early American Reader. Washington, DC: United States Information Agency, Division for the Study of the United States, 1988. p.601.
Saunders, Richard H., and Ellen G. Miles. American Colonial Portraits: 1700-1776. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1987. p.251.
Simon, Robin. The Portrait in Britain and America, wiht a Biographical Dictionary of Portrait Painters 1680-1914. Oxford: Phaidon, 1987. p.190.
Johnston, Sona K. American Paintings 1750-1900: from the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art. BMA: 1983.
Inscribed: Inscription on reverse of original canvas: "Charles Calvert AE 5 / John Hesselius, Pinx, Maryland / 1761"
On View at the BMA
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