For decades, the truth about Frederick Baker’s life under enslavement was enshrouded in a whitewashed history perpetuated by the local historians of Longwood mansion in Natchez, Mississippi. Now, new research on a rare pre-Emancipation artwork that has long been on display at the historic house museum has unearthed Baker’s story, dispelling years of false narratives that dignified the reputations of his White enslavers.
Attributed to the artist C.R. Parker, the 19th-century oil painting “Portrait of Frederick” (c. 1840) is thought to be one of two known portraits depicting enslaved individuals in Mississippi. It was acquired as a joint partnership between the Crystal Bridges museum and the Mississippi Museum of Art (MMA), which holds “Portrait of Delia” (ca. 1840-1849) by James Reid Lambdin. The purchase was made in April from Neal Auction Company in New Orleans for $508,750.
Ahead of its sale, the company enlisted Louisiana-based historian and author Katy Morlas Shannon to investigate the history of the portrait sitter. She had previously worked with art collector Jeremy K. Simien to uncover the identity of Bélizaire, a 15-year-old Black subject who was painted over in a portrait of his enslavers.
Between January and March of this year, Morlas Shannon pored over old letters, family documents, plantation journal entries, newspapers, and government records to compile a comprehensive timeline detailing Baker’s life. Her findings reveal a lifetime of cruel violence, inhumane living conditions, and exhausting work that he and his family endured under enslavement, dispelling a long list of false claims perpetuated by Longwood since the Pilgrimage Garden Club took ownership of the property in 1970.
The Pilgrimage Garden Club, which provides year-round tours at other museum homes linked to slavery, has long faced criticism over its romanticization of the Confederacy and erasure of the violence of slavery. Its website describes Longwood as “the largest octagonal house in America” that was left partially unfinished due to Civil War; it makes no mention of the site’s history of enslavement, instead advertising a tour where visitors can “learn about the fascinating history of the original builder and his family.”
In an essay for the Neal Auction lot, Morlas Shannon referenced claims promoted by tour guides and docents at Longwood that described the site’s former owner Haller Nutt, a notorious enslaver in Louisiana and Mississippi at the height of his wealth, as a benevolent man who eventually freed Baker. “Dr. Nutt was a sober man who took his duties and obligations seriously. He felt deep concern for the approximately 800 slaves who worked his plantations and cared for the family’s homes,” art and architectural history professor William Whitwell wrote in The Heritage of Longwood, published in 2009.
The club also misrepresented Baker as “the subservient best friend of his enslaver” and a loyal butler, she wrote. Whitwell described Baker as a “long-term man-servant named Uncle Frederick” who continued to care for Nutt’s widowed wife and children after his death.
“Frederick [Baker] has become the stuff of legend for Confederate apologists and tourists,” Morlas Shannon wrote in her essay.
Hyperallergic reached out to the Pilgrimage Garden Club for comment.
James Reid Lambdin, “Portrait of Delia” (ca. 1840-1849) (courtesy Mississippi Museum of Art)
It is unclear exactly why the Nutts commissioned Baker’s portrait, which Morlas Shannon estimates was painted during the 1830s or early 1840s at Laurel Hill Plantation in Mississippi. The artist was a friend of Nutt family and had previously painted portraits of George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette for the Louisiana state legislature.
Morlas Shannon described how the work — which captures Baker as its sole subject — evokes a certain false autonomy, given the reality that he would have not had the freedom to consent to the portrait. The work, therefore, served as “another means of objectifying Frederick [Baker].”
“Frederick Baker’s family never owned a painting or photograph that allowed them to remember their father and grandfather,” Morlas Shannon continued. “Even after they were free, the people who had owned Frederick while he was alive owned his likeness after his death.”
Similarly, “Portrait of Delia” remained in the possession of her enslavers for generations until 2018 when the MMA acquired it. The painting depicts a house servant at Mount Repose plantation near Natchez, Mississippi, which was owned by William Bisland. The artist, who was a relative of the Bislands by marriage, also created portraits of presidents Zachary Taylor and William Henry Harrison. But other than these details, the MMA has little information about the artwork’s history.
“Portrait of Frederick” is currently on display at the MMA through December 1 in the temporary exhibition Figments, which explores the historically fraught positions of Black subjects in visual art. In May 2026, the painting will travel to Crystal Bridges for one year, and subsequently alternate between the two museums based on three-year terms.
