Portraits at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

On January 14 & 16, 2009, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Tribune reported that New York siblings John, Pamela, and William Pickens placed portraits painted by Philadelphia artist Franklin Street of their ancestors, newlyweds Hiram Charles and Elizabeth Montier on long term loan to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

These 1841 portraits of the African American couple can be traced back to the city’s first mayor, Humphrey Morrey (c. 1650-1716), appointed by William Penn in 1691. The portraits of Hiram Charles Montier (1818–1905), who was a bootmaker at the time of the painting, and his wife Elizabeth Brown Montier (1820–c. 1858) are owned by their descendents, Mr. and Mrs. William Pickens, III of New York.

In 1742, Mayor Humphrey Morrey's son Richard (1675-1754) married one of the family’s servants, Cremona Satterthwaite (1710-1770) who was 35 years younger than he. The union resulted in five children, and in Cremona Morrey receiving 198 acres of land from Richard in 1746, near Guineatown in Cheltenham Township of Montgomery County just northwest of Philadelphia. One of their 5 children, Cremona, married a free black man, John Montier. Hiram Chales Montier descended from this union. 

Celebrating in 1830-60s America - Music & Dance by William Sidney Mount 1807-1868

William Sidney Mount (American painter, 1807-1868) Catching the Tune 1866-7

William Sidney Mount (American painter, 1807-1868) Dance of the Haymakers 1845


The Irish tradition of "dancing a jig" in the Middle Atlantic was noted by a newspaper reporter in the middle of the century.  In 1848, a reporter for the New York Tribune visited a hotel in Philadelphia's Southwark district where working-class men & women came to drink & dance. When the "old negro fiddler" strikes up a tune in a dancing-room upstairs, the reporter records,

"The dance proceeds for a few minutes in tolerable order; but soon the excitement grows, the dancers begin … accelerating their movements, accompanied with shouts of laughter, yells of encouragement and applause, … Affairs are now at their height. The black fiddler increases the momentum of his elbow and calls out the figure in convulsive efforts to be heard [while] the dancers, now wild with excitement, leap frantically about … and at length conclude the dance in the wildest disorder and confusion. As soon as the parties recover, the fiddler makes his appearance among them and receives from each gentleman a tip as his proportion of the ceremony of 'facing the music,' and the floor is cleared for a new set; and so goes on the night."


William Sidney Mount (American painter, 1807-1868) Right and Left 1850


William Sidney Mount (American painter, 1807-1868) Dancing on the Barn Floor 1831


William Sidney Mount (American painter, 1807-1868) The Banjo Player 1856


William Sidney Mount (American painter, 1807-1868) Rustic Dance After a Sleigh Ride 1830


William Sidney Mount (American painter, 1807-1868) The Bone Player 1856


William Sidney Mount (American painter, 1807-1868) The Breakdown Bar Room Scene 1835

William Sidney Mount (American painter, 1807-1868) Just in Time


William Sidney Mount (American painter, 1807-1868) The Power of Music 1847

William Sidney Mount (American genre painter, 1807-1868)  The Banjo Player 1856

American Families by Eastman Johnson (1824-1906)

Eastman Johnson (American painter, 1824-1906) was an American painter who helped establish the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Best known for his genre paintings of scenes from everyday life, he also painted portraits of the famous & not so famous.

Eastman Johnson (American painter, 1824-1906) Christmas Time the Blodgett Family 1864 Detail

Eastman Johnson (American painter, 1824-1906) Fiddling His Way 1866 Detail

Eastman Johnson (American painter, 1824-1906) The Hatch Family 1871 Detail

Eastman Johnson (American painter, 1824-1906) Sunday Morning 1866 Detail

Eastman Johnson (American painter, 1824-1906) The Brown Family 1869 Detail

Eastman Johnson (American painter, 1824-1906) Life in the South 1859 Detail

Eastman Johnson (American painter, 1824-1906) Fiddling 1866 Detail

Ironing before a Log Fire

Ironing before a Log Fire by Mary Lyde Hicks Williams.  Mary Lyde Hicks Williams (1866-1959) Mary's paintings of freed slaves reflected daily life she saw on her uncle's plantation during Reconstruction in North Carolina.

Log Cabin Yard Scene

Log Cabin Yard Scene by Mary Lyde Hicks Williams.  Mary Lyde Hicks Williams (1866-1959) Mary's paintings of freed slaves reflected daily life she saw on her uncle's plantation during Reconstruction in North Carolina.

Milk Churning

Milk Churning by Mary Lyde Hicks Williams.  Mary Lyde Hicks Williams (1866-1959) Mary's paintings of freed slaves reflected daily life she saw on her uncle's plantation during Reconstruction in North Carolina.

The Laborer's Refreshment

The Laborer's Refreshment by Mary Lyde Hicks Williams.  Mary Lyde Hicks Williams (1866-1959) Mary's paintings of freed slaves reflected daily life she saw on her uncle's plantation during Reconstruction in North Carolina.

Child in the Lap of her Nurse

CHILD ASLEEP IN LAP OF NURSE by Mary Lyde Hicks Williams.  Mary Lyde Hicks Williams (1866-1959) Mary's paintings of freed slaves reflected daily life she saw on her uncle's plantation during Reconstruction in North Carolina.

Ironing before a Log Fire

1890-1910 After Slavery - Ironing before a Log Fire by North Carolinian Mary Lyde Hicks Williams.  Mary Lyde Hicks Williams (1866-1959) Mary's paintings of freed slaves reflected daily life she saw on her uncle's plantation during Reconstruction in North Carolina.

Churning and Dish Washing

Churning and Dish Washing by Mary Lyde Hicks Williams.  Mary Lyde Hicks Williams (1866-1959) Mary's paintings of freed slaves reflected daily life she saw on her uncle's plantation during Reconstruction in North Carolina.

Portrait of Ernestine

PORTRAIT OF ERNESTINE by Mary Lyde Hicks Williams (1866-1959) Mary's paintings  reflected daily life she saw on her uncle's plantation during Reconstruction in North Carolina.

Portrait of Julia Faison

JULIA FAISON WITH BOUQUET by Mary Lyde Hicks Williams.   Mary Lyde Hicks Williams (1866-1959) Mary's paintings of freed slaves reflected daily life she saw on her uncle's plantation during Reconstruction in North Carolina.

North Carolina Quilting Party

North Carolina Quilting Party by Mary Lyde Hicks Williams. Mary Lyde Hicks Williams (1866-1959) Mary's paintings of freed slaves reflected daily life she saw on her uncle's plantation during Reconstruction in North Carolina.

Portrait of Mary Lyde Faison

MARY LYDE FAISON IN PENSIVE MOOD by Mary Lyde Hicks Williams.  Mary Lyde Hicks Williams (1866-1959) Mary's paintings of freed slaves reflected daily life she saw on her uncle's plantation during Reconstruction in North Carolina.

Portrait of Edith

PORTRAIT OF EDITH by Mary Lyde Hicks Williams.  Mary Lyde Hicks Williams (1866-1959) Mary's paintings of freed slaves reflected daily life she saw on her uncle's plantation during Reconstruction in North Carolina.

Maggie during Reconstruction

PORTRAIT OF MAGGIE by Mary Lyde Hicks William.  Mary Lyde Hicks William (1866-1959) Mary's paintings of freed slaves reflected daily life she saw on her uncle's plantation during Reconstruction in North Carolina.

North Carolina Corn Shucking in the Moonlight

Corn Shucking in the Moonlight  by Mary Lyde Hicks Williams. Mary Lyde Hicks Williams (1866-1959) Mary's paintings of freed slaves reflected daily life she saw on her uncle's plantation during Reconstruction in North Carolina.

The Peacock Broom

PEACOCK BROOM IN THE DINING ROOM by Mary Lyde Hicks Williams. Mary Lyde Hicks Williams (1866-1959) Mary's paintings of freed slaves reflected daily life she saw on her uncle's plantation during Reconstruction in North Carolina.