Rare Portraits of Enslaved Mississippians Displayed at Mississippi Museum of Art

(AP)—With powerfully haunting eyes and an enigmatic expression, “Portrait of Frederick,” an enslaved man painted circa 1840, stares out at visitors of the Mississippi Museum of Art. “They certainly weren’t allowed to own their own portrait.”The museum bought “Portrait of Frederick” in partnership with the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. The painting “Portrait of Delia” is displayed at the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson, Miss., on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. Delia’s portrait was kept by the descendants of her enslavers until the Mississippi Museum of Art bought it 2019. Upon looking at “Portrait of Frederick,” Williams said she felt a surprising mixture of pride and sadness.