Almost Unknown, The Afric-American Picture Gallery

Inspired by an 1859 essay written by a free black journalist and educator named William J. Wilson, this exhibition takes visitors on a tour of Wilson’s imagined gallery of prints, paintings, sculptures, books, and other decorative objects that represent Black life in the United States and across the Diaspora, as interpreted by curator and historian Dr. Jonathan Michael Square.

Winterthur will for the first time bring this gallery to fruition, using objects from the collections to represent Wilson’s displays. These include a silhouette attributed to Moses Williams, the portrait of George Washington and his family painted by Edward Savage, and copies of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Phillis Wheatley’s Poems on Various Subjects, among others.

The exhibition extends beyond the gallery walls and features books that will be displayed in the library and on Almost Unknown: Continue the Journey, an exclusive tour of selected objects in the house. Through this multifaceted presentation, the exhibition sheds light on stories that have long been overlooked in American museums and history.