Photo | Courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration
Frederick Douglass, prominent orator and abolitionist
March 28, 2023
Artists selected to paint first Black portraits for Mechanics Hall installation
PHOTO | Courtesy of Dr. John Goldsberry
A portrait of 19th century abolitionist Martha Brown. A different portrait, featuring Martha and her husband William, will be among three paintings revealed to the public in March as part of an expansion of Mechanic Hall's gallery.
By Isabel Tehan
The Worcester County Mechanics Association on Monday named the four artists who have been chosen to paint portraits of prominent 19th century Black abolitionists for its Great Hall gallery. When the artwork is completed, anticipated to be in February 2024, it will mark the first time Black Americans will be included in the hall’s installation.
The four portraits will be of Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and William Brown, a Worcester business owner and abolitionist, with his wife, Martha Brown. William Brown was the first Black member of the Worcester County Mechanics Association.
The artists chosen are Brooklyn-based Brenda Zlamany, who will paint the Browns, Imo Nse Imeh, of Holyoke, who will paint Douglass, and New Yorker Manu Saluja, who will paint Sojourner Truth, according to a Tuesday press release from the association. They were chosen after a six-month formal selection process coordinated by Gloria Hall, Worcester-based public art administrator and preservationist.
“This important project allows Mechanics Hall to represent Black American history and to emphasize the abolitionist and women’s rights activity in Worcester and in this Hall. Ultimately, the gallery will portray the American story with deeper dimension,” Kathleen Gagne, executive director of Mechanics Hall, said in the Monday announcement.
The association first announced the plans for the portraits in 2020. At the time, Gagne estimated the installation would take at least two years, including funding the project and selecting artists. When the first women’s portraits were added in 1999, the project took four years to complete.
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