Exhibition Guide
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Charles Calvert and Once-Known Enslaved Attendant
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About John Hesselius
(American, 1728-1778)Art Object Info
This portrait depicts two figures, but for more than two centuries, only one was acknowledged in the title, reflecting the white supremacist beliefs of 18th-century colonial America and their ongoing legacy. Charles Calvert (1756–1773), the five-year-old white child at right, is wearing an expensive pink satin suit reflective of his family’s status and wealth. The unidentified Black child at left was enslaved by the Calverts, a powerful Maryland family, and worked as an attendant to Charles. He is finely dressed in black and yellow—colors of the Calvert crest, which forms part of the Maryland state flag today—signaling his role as a servant to the family.
In 2022, the Museum retitled this painting to reflect the child’s enslavement in a way that respected his humanity rather than defining him solely as a slave. Limited historical records have not yet enabled BMA researchers to identify him, but he was likely a real, recognizable person to family, friends, and others when the painting was commissioned.
Charles Calvert and Once-Known Enslaved Attendant
This portrait depicts two figures, but for more than two centuries, only one was acknowledged in the title, reflecting the white supremacist beliefs of 18th-century colonial America and their ongoing legacy. Charles Calvert (1756–1773), the five-year-old white child at right, is wearing an expensive pink satin suit reflective of his family’s status and wealth. The unidentified Black child at left was enslaved by the Calverts, a powerful Maryland family, and worked as an attendant to Charles. He is finely dressed in black and yellow—colors of the Calvert crest, which forms part of the Maryland state flag today—signaling his role as a servant to the family.
In 2022, the Museum retitled this painting to reflect the child’s enslavement in a way that respected his humanity rather than defining him solely as a slave. Limited historical records have not yet enabled BMA researchers to identify him, but he was likely a real, recognizable person to family, friends, and others when the painting was commissioned.