Symposium 2023 Skic presentation

Matthew Skic presents “Picturing the Fortens: Portraits of a Free Black Family in Philadelphia"
This session will explore painted and photographic portraits of three generations of the Forten family of Philadelphia to better understand their material world in the 19th century. The session will highlight the portraits of James Forten, Charlotte Vandine Forten, and Charlotte Forten, and will discuss the Fortens' patronage of abolitionist artist Nathaniel Jocelyn. The session will also address the research challenges and limitations of studying the Forten family's portraits, such as the fact that only one photograph of one of the nine children of James Forten and Charlotte Vandine Forten is known to survive.

Matthew Skic serves as Curator of Exhibitions at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. Originally from New Jersey, Matthew studied history at American University in Washington, DC. He joined the curatorial staff at the Museum of the American Revolution in June 2016 soon after graduating from the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture at the University of Delaware. Since the Museum’s opening in 2017, Matthew has curated multiple award-winning exhibitions, including Cost of Revolution: The Life and Death of an Irish Soldier, and has helped to expand the Museum’s online educational resources. He recently served as the lead curator of the 2023 special exhibit Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia, which is the inspiration for his talk.

Видео Symposium 2023 Skic presentation канала DAR Museum