African American Artist Series: Prince Demah
Prince Demah’s story is very interesting. These three paintings are the only known surviving paintings of his. They are extra rare because he was enslaved by a colonial couple when he painted them. In fact, according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, “he is the only enslaved artist working in colonial America whose paintings are known to have survived.”
The first two paintings are of the enslavers Henry and Christian Barnes. The third painting is of a textile merchant named William Duguid. Henry was impressed with Prince’s talent and took him to London to further his art education.
The Barnes were Loyalists and fled to England in 1775 leaving behind the Demah. Unfortunately, not a lot is known about Prince’s short life. He died in 1778 of an unknown disease only a year after enlisted in the Massachusetts militia in 1777 as a “free Negro” to fight against the British.