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Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass
Artist
Unidentified Artist
Sitter
Frederick Douglass, Feb 1818 - 20 Feb 1895
Date
1856
Type
Photograph
Medium
Quarter-plate ambrotype
Dimensions
Image/Sight: 8.8 × 6.7 cm (3 7/16 × 2 5/8")
Mat (brass): 10.8 × 8.3 cm (4 1/4 × 3 1/4")
Case open: 12 × 19.2 × 1.3 cm (4 3/4 × 7 9/16 × 1/2")
Case closed: 12 × 9.5 × 1.9 cm (4 3/4 × 3 3/4 × 3/4")
Topic
Interior
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard
Costume\Dress Accessory\Neckwear\Tie\Bowtie
Religious\Angel
Personal Attribute\Hairstyle\Afro
Cased object
Frederick Douglass: Male
Frederick Douglass: Literature\Writer
Frederick Douglass: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Lecturer
Frederick Douglass: Journalism and Media\Newspaper publisher
Frederick Douglass: Politics and Government\Diplomat\Minister
Frederick Douglass: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Abolitionist
Frederick Douglass: Society and Social Change\Enslaved person
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquired through the generosity of an anonymous donor
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.74.75
Exhibition Label
Born near Easton, Maryland
In the years following his escape from bondage in 1838, Frederick Douglass emerged as a powerful and persuasive spokesman for the cause of abolition. His effectiveness as an antislavery advocate was due in large measure to his firsthand experience with the evils of slavery and his extraordinary skill as an orator. His "glowing logic, biting irony, melting appeals, and electrifying eloquence" astonished and enthralled his audiences. As this ambrotype suggests, Douglass’s power was also rooted in the sheer impressiveness of his bearing, which abolitionist and activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton likened to that of "an African prince, majestic in his wrath."
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view