Depictions of Black Womanhood

Confronting and Resisting Stereotypes

From Re-Presenting Black Womanhood

A watercolor drawing of a woman in a landscape. The woman is standing on the right side of the image, dressed in a fine blue dress. She stands at ease and gazes directly at the viewer. She has short dark hair and an expression of calm. The left side of the image is an unfinished landscape of two trees and bushes. On the rightmost side there are some unfinished pencil lines.

Representations of Black women call attention to their presence and significance in American history, but we often do not know the names or personal stories of these individuals. The Winterthur collection includes some objects that offer empowering views of Black womanhood, either through self-creation or artistic representation. Other objects say more about white attempts to erase Black women’s self-representation through the use of stereotypes. As you view these objects, think about the identities, known and unknown, of both the makers and the figures depicted.

Please note that this exhibition contains content associated with difficult histories and historical trauma.

A watercolor drawing of a woman in a landscape. The woman is dressed in a fine blue dress. She stands at ease and gazes directly at the viewer. She has short dark hair and an expression of calm.

Woman in a Blue Dress

John Lewis Krimmel, 1812-1814

A watercolor drawing of a woman in a landscape. The woman is standing on the right side of the image, dressed in a fine blue dress. She stands at ease and gazes directly at the viewer. She has short dark hair and an expression of calm. The left side of the image is an unfinished landscape of two trees and bushes. On the rightmost side there are some unfinished pencil lines.

We do not know the name of the woman in this watercolor sketch. We do know the artist, John Lewis Krimmel, the same artist who painted The Quilting Frolic (below). Although Krimmel’s The Quilting Frolic is a more formal painting aimed at a public audience, this sketch comes from Krimmel’s private notebook. Notice the difference between this woman and the Black girl in The Quilting Frolic. The woman has a personable gaze, wears fine clothing, and stands at ease. Would Krimmel’s depiction of this Black woman have changed if it had been created for a public audience? Why do you think Krimmel portrayed this woman differently than the girl in The Quilting Frolic?

A painting of a domestic scene of a room filled with several figures. The right side of the room has a group of people entering through a door, moving into the center of the painting. Five of these figures are light-skinned, wearing fine clothing. The other figure in this party has dark skin, wears a hat, and is playing a fiddle. On the left side of the painting there are five other figures. An elderly light-skinned man sits towards the center in front of a fireplace, smoking a pipe. In front of him there is a young dark-skinned girl, smiling up at the group of people entering. She is wearing an orange dress covered by a white apron and is holding a tray of ceramic cups. Immediately to the left there is a light-skinned woman wearing a white cap and pink dress, holding a plate. On her other side there is a light-skinned, brown-haired young woman cutting yellow fabric from a wooden frame. There is a table in front of her, covered with dishes and food. A young, light-skinned boy with his back to the viewer is taking food from the table. From under the table, a light-skinned, brown-haired woman emerges, holding a basket of fabric and looking up at the party. The room is decorated with many paintings, a bird cage, and clock. The back-left corner has a cupboard filled with dishes, with more dishes piled on top of it. In the right and center foreground, there are many objects scattered, including a chair, broom, and fabric. A small dark cat is in the left foreground. The painting is in a golden frame.

The Quilting Frolic

John Lewis Krimmel, 1813

Dating to the early 1800s, this painting celebrates middle-class life and comfort while reinforcing harmful misrepresentations of African Americans. The chaotic assembly circles an unknown young Black female caricature depicted in a position of servitude. Her gaze is fixed on the dominant white male, and her expression suggests her contentment. While Black women and girls often performed skilled work in their own and others’ households, representations of “happy servants” are visual and material reminders of the oppressive beliefs and circumstances Black people faced during this era.

A painting of a domestic scene of a room filled with several figures. An elderly light-skinned man sits towards the center in front of a fireplace, smoking a pipe. In front of him there is a young dark-skinned girl, smiling up at a group of people on the right. She is wearing an orange dress covered by a white apron and is holding a tray of ceramic cups. Immediately to the left there is a light-skinned woman wearing a white cap and pink dress, holding a plate. From under the table to the left of the girl, a light-skinned, brown-haired woman emerges, holding a basket of fabric and looking up at the party.
A pencil drawing of a young dark-skinned girl carrying a cup. She has short dark hair, earrings and a necklace. She is wearing a long dress with a white, lace-trimmed apron over it. The top of the image has the word “Dinah” written.

Drawing Book

Brooks, Mollie J., 1861

This drawing of a Black girl labeled as “Dinah” is dated March, 1861, prior to the Civil War but after emancipation in New York, where this sketch was likely made. The image raises several questions. Is this a real or imagined person? Would the racial identity of the artist affect how this girl is represented? Would knowing the social identity of the subject impact the creator's message? These are the types of questions that encourage material culture research and reveal new stories.

Mollie Brooks, the artist who owned this sketchbook signed her name and listed her hometown, Highland Mills, New York, in her book.

Do you have a sketchbook at home? Who or what do you draw in it? Why do you choose to draw these things?

Textile Samples

Blackburn, North Carolina, 1861-1865

After the end of the Civil War, assemblages of fabric swatches like these were collected and displayed as examples of “homespun” fabric and Southern resilience in wartime. Attribution of textile samples like these to supposedly self-sufficient white women erases the lives and labor of the enslaved and free Black women who were often responsible for making textiles or teaching these skills to others on plantations.

A framed collection of plaid fabric squares in a variety of colors, arranged in a rectangular shape with a rectangular piece of paper in the center. The paper reads: “Samples of Cloth manufactured on the Plantation of Mrs. Sarah S. Blackburn in North Carolina during the Rebellion from 1861 to 1865.” The frame is made of brown wood.
A needlework framed in a brown wooden frame. The needlework depicts a house with a yellow roof and chimney in the center, with trees in the background and bushes in front. There is a bridge on the left with a light blue stream running under it across the image. On the right, there is a light-skinned, blonde haired woman in a pink dress and yellow bonnet. To her left, there is a black goat, a white goat, and a black and tan dog. In the left background, there is a white stone building with a blue and red roof. The bottom of the needlework reads: “Rachel Ann Lee worked at the Sisters of Providence School of Baltimore July 3, 1846.”

Needlework

Rachel Ann Lee, 1846

Founded by the world’s first Black Roman Catholic sisterhood, the Oblate Sisters of Providence School in Baltimore offered formal education to Black girls. As a student at the school, Rachel Ann Lee created this needlework picture, which showcases her needlework skills, education, and status in antebellum Baltimore. Most Black girls in the 1840s did not have the opportunity to attend a school like this one. The needlework remains in its original frame, indicating that it was likely displayed by Lee as a representation of her education and skill. This object helps us understand how its maker, Rachel Ann Lee, conformed to racial norms of her time while still challenging them.

What skills are you most proud of? Do you or your family display them in your home?

A needlework of a white stone building with a blue and red roof.

New Scholarship

Winterthur continually adds to the museum, garden, and library collections, and it is actively supporting new scholarly inquiries. Material culture scholarship allows museums to re-examine traditional object narratives and to forefront their lesser-known and understudied stories.

Kelli Coles, a University of Delaware History PhD candidate, studies Rachel Ann Lee’s needlework picture in her dissertation project. Scholars previously thought there might only be a handful of needlework samplers and pictures from the 1800s created by Black women and girls. Coles has identified dozens and continues to add to this list as she discovers more examples though her detailed research. Learn more about her scholarship here: Kellicoles.com

A needlework framed in a brown wooden frame. The needlework depicts a house with a yellow roof and chimney in the center, with trees in the background and bushes in front. There is a bridge on the left with a light blue stream running under it across the image. On the right, there is a light-skinned, blonde haired woman in a pink dress and yellow bonnet. To her left, there is a black goat, a white goat, and a black and tan dog. In the left background, there is a white stone building with a blue and red roof. The bottom of the needlework reads: “Rachel Ann Lee worked at the Sisters of Providence School of Baltimore July 3, 1846.”

Emelie Gevalt, a former Lois F. McNeil Fellow in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in American Material Culture and now Curator of Folk Art at the American Folk Art Museum, researched an overmantel painting of the Maryland plantation, Perry Hall, in the Winterthur collection. The painting depicts a previously unidentified young Black woman, but Gevalt's research, has led to the possible identification of this young woman as Sib Hall.

See the Perry Hall painting and learn more in this video: Slavery and the Winterthur Collection, Maryland Plantation Painting

This exhibition is presented by Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library. To learn more, visit www.winterthur.org.

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