Finding a rare portrait, and the boy hidden in its paint
When art collector Jeremy Simien came across a portrait of four Louisiana children he become obsessed. But this painting held a secret – an attempt to erase an enslaved child.
American art collector Jeremy Simien specialises in paintings that depict his Louisiana Afro-Creole heritage. When he came across an image of a portrait of four children from the 1830s, he became obsessed. Because over the years, one of the children – an enslaved Black boy – had been mysteriously covered up. Who was this boy, and could Jeremy track down the portrait?
Presenter: Ramita Navai
Producer: Olivia Lynch-Kelly and Maryam Maruf
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707
(Photo: Jeremy Simien with the painting of Bélizaire and the Frey Children the day it arrived. Credit: Courtesy of Jeremy Simien)
Last on
Broadcasts
- Thu 26 Oct 202311:06GMTBBC World Service
- Thu 26 Oct 202317:06GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Thu 26 Oct 202321:06GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Fri 27 Oct 202302:06GMTBBC World Service
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