Frederick Douglass

Object Details

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."

Credit Line: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquired through the generosity of an anonymous donor

1856

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")

National Portrait Gallery

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

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4edbc86d9-ca8e-4512-b840-0fe22f2d299b