Skip to Content

Yes, we’re open throughout Labor Day weekend. See hours.

Today Open today 11–5

  • Mon 11–5
  • Tue Closed
  • Wed 11–5
  • Thu 11–8
  • Fri–Sun 11–5
  • The first hour of every day, 10–11 a.m., is reserved for member-only viewing.

The Captive Slave (Ira Aldridge)

Painting of a dark-skinned man seated and wearing a red open-necked tunic. He looks up to the right. His wrists are shackled and a large chain rests at his right, running down the bench he sits upon.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

Image actions

  • Painting of a dark-skinned man seated and wearing a red open-necked tunic. He looks up to the right. His wrists are shackled and a large chain rests at his right, running down the bench he sits upon.

Date:

1827

Artist:

John Philip Simpson (English, 1782–1847)

About this artwork

In the years leading up to the British Emancipation Act of 1833, this painting of an enslaved man constituted a timely abolitionist appeal. Set against a deeply shadowed background, the figure’s upward gaze suggests a yearning for freedom as he sits manacled to a bench. The composition echoes conventional imagery of Christian saints and martyrs; artist John Philip Simpson used familiar iconography to appeal to the sentimentality of wealthy white viewers with the requisite power to sway public policy. But the deeply moving pose also reflects the artistic contribution of the man who modeled for the figure, now identified as Ira Aldridge, a freeborn American actor famous for playing the title role in Shakespeare’s Othello. His performance in Thomas Morton’s musical drama The Slave may have been the immediate inspiration for Simpson’s painting. Aldridge was also renowned for his impassioned speeches for the abolitionist cause.

In 1827, when The Captive Slave was first exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, the accompanying catalogue included the following excerpt from William Cowper’s 1782 antislavery poem, “Charity”: “But ah! what wish can prosper, or what prayer, / For merchants rich in cargoes of despair.”

An engraving of this work, published by Edward Finden in 1827, is also in the Art Institute’s collection.

Status

On View, Gallery 220

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist

John Philip Simpson

Title

The Captive Slave (Ira Aldridge)

Place

England (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1827

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

127 × 101.5 cm (50 × 40 in.); Framed: 167.1 × 141.7 cm (65 3/4 × 55 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by Mary Winton Green, Dan and Sara Green Cohan, Howard and Lisa Green and Jonathan and Brenda Green, in memory of David Green

Reference Number

2008.188

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/193664/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.
Learn more

Image actions

Share

Suggested Terms