How does the legacy of slavery affect life today?
This painting depicts the children of Reverend William Anderson Scott, a Presbyterian minister in New Orleans from 1842 to 1854. The spire of his First Presbyterian Church is visible at the center of the city’s skyline. Scott family papers suggest that the African American woman at the right is Mila, who was enslaved by the family. Her inferior position relative to the children is emphasized by her posture and placement within the composition.
Medium
Oil on canvas
Credit
Gift of Margaret Clifton Boyd and Cynthia Hollister Nagel
Item ID
2008.14
Dimensions
39 x 47 in. (99.1 x 119.4 cm)
Date
ca. 1843–1845
Country
\ Also in this gallery
Justice
David Gilmour Blythe (ca. 1860)
Market Woman
Thomas Waterman Wood (1858)
The Steamship Syracuse
James Bard (1857)
Peter Quivey and the…
Charles Christian Nahl (1857)
The Trial of John Brown
Horace Pippin (1942)
Albert Post (1843–1872)
Winslow Homer (ca. 1864)
Artist name
Unidentified artist
Artwork location