Portrait of William Duguid

Prince Demah Barnes

1773 · Oil on canvas · The American Wing

Duguid, a Scottish immigrant and textile importer based in Boston, is the subject of this portrait. In 1773 he sat for Prince Demah, a painter of African descent who was enslaved by the merchant Henry Barnes. Impressed with his artistic talent, Barnes took the young man to London for some brief training. Demah’s story is extraordinary—he is the only enslaved portraitist working in colonial America whose paintings are known to have survived. When the Loyalist Barnes family fled to England in 1775, the artist remained in Boston, identifying himself as "Prince Demah, limner" and a "free Negro." He enlisted in the Massachusetts militia in 1777 to fight against the British, but died of an unknown illness the following year.

Artist

Prince Demah Barnes

Date

1773

Medium

Oil on canvas

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Friends of the American Wing Fund, 2010