# @hyperallergic on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DPoT5Jfk7Oz
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/35606930-hyperallergic-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/136a25fd35.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-10-10T13:09:07.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Hyperallergic (@hyperallergic) — https://gondola.cc/hyperallergic

## Caption

Attributed to the artist C.R. Parker, the 19th-century oil painting “Portrait of Frederick” (c. 1840) is thought to be one of two known portraits depicting enslaved individuals in Mississippi. For decades, the truth about Frederick Baker’s life under enslavement was enshrouded in a whitewashed history perpetuated by the local historians of Longwood mansion in Natchez, Mississippi. 

Between January and March of this year, Louisiana-based historian and author Katy Morlas Shannon pored over old letters, family documents, plantation journal entries, newspapers, and government records to compile a comprehensive timeline detailing Baker’s life. Her findings reveal a lifetime of cruel violence, inhumane living conditions, and exhausting work that he and his family endured under enslavement, dispelling a long list of false claims perpetuated by Longwood since the Pilgrimage Garden Club took ownership of the property in 1970.

The Pilgrimage Garden Club, which provides year-round tours at other museum homes linked to slavery, has long faced criticism over its romanticization of the Confederacy and erasure of the violence of slavery. Its website describes Longwood as “the largest octagonal house in America” that was left partially unfinished due to Civil War; it makes no mention of the site’s history of enslavement, instead advertising a tour where visitors can “learn about the fascinating history of the original builder and his family.” 

Read the full story by mayapontone at the link in bio.
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Attributed to C.R. Parker, "Portrait of Frederick" (c. 1840) (courtesy the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Mississippi Museum of Art) 

#FrederickBaker #Portrait #BlackHistory #CivilWar #Louisiana

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## Tags

civilwar, portrait, louisiana, frederickbaker, blackhistory

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