The Scourged Back

c. 1863

McPherson & Oliver

Associated Names
McPherson & Oliver

Artist, American, active 1860s

This sepia-toned photograph shows the upper half of a man who is seated with his back towards us. The man's head is turned over his left shoulder, allowing us to see his face in profile. He is topless, with dark skin, short, curly hair, and a beard. He sits on a stool with fabric wrapped around his waist and his left hand on his hip. His bare back is covered in overlapping scars that stretch from the bottom of his neck to his hips. The scars are raised and reflect light from an unseen light source. The background is a plain, tan surface, and the photograph is framed by a thin red outline.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    albumen silver print (carte-de-visite)

  • Credit Line

    Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund

  • Dimensions

    image/sheet: 8.6 × 5.6 cm (3 3/8 × 2 3/16 in.)
    mount: 10 × 6.4 cm (3 15/16 × 2 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2018.95.2

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Private collection, MI; (Thomas Harris, New York); NGA purchase, 2018.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2019

  • The Eye of the Sun: Nineteenth-Century Photographs from the National Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2019, unnumbered catalogue.

2022

  • Afro-Atlantic Histories, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2022 - 2024, unnumbered catalogue.

Inscriptions

on verso, center printed in black ink: "THE PECULIAR INSTITUTION" / ILLUSTRATED. / Copy of a photograph taken from life / at Baton Rouge, La. Ap. 2. '63; the lacerated / body-- months after the brutal flogging had / been inflicted-- having healed in the man- / ner represented. The alleged offence was a / trifling one. How noble and benignant the / countenance of the victim!; bottom center printed in black ink: C. SEAVEE, aJn., PHOTOGRAPHEE, / 27, Tremont Row, Boston

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