Miss Fillis and child, and Bill, sold at publick sale in May 12th, Christiansburg, Montgomery County
This watercolor shows a mother holding her infant, an adult male by her side and white men bidding at the slave auction. Written on the auction block: [Bill] sold for 800 and Fillis for 600. Lewis Miller (1796-1882) was a native of Pennsylvania, a carpenter and often visited his brother in Virginia. His watercolors are rare because he depicted enslaved people. According to the Encyclopedia Virginia, "His pictures are also valued for their relative emotional detachment and credibility, for Miller fancied himself a recorder, not an agitator, activist, or commentator."
Image Title
Miss Fillis and child, and Bill, sold at publick sale in May 12th, Christiansburg, Montgomery County
RegID
SI-OB-732
Date
1850s
Title
Miss Fillis and child, and Bill, sold at publick sale in May 12th, Christiansburg, Montgomery County
Source
Lewis Miller, Sketchbook of Landscapes in the State of Virginia, 1853-1867. Courtesy, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, Virginia; slide 83-167c.
Language
English
Item sets
Slave Sales & Auctions: African Coast & the Americas
Spatial Coverage
North America--Virginia--Christiansburg
Reproduced In
Lewis Miller, Sketchbook of Landscapes in the State of Virginia, 1853-1867.
Researchers
Jerome Handler; Michael Tuite; Henry B. Lovejoy Graduate Research Assistants: Tiffany Beebe; Travis May
Last Updated
17-Dec-09
Identifier
CWF-4