In a truly remarkable turn of events, a highly esteemed artwork, modified during the 19th century to conceal a young Black boy who was an integral part of the original composition, has been meticulously restored and is now on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States of America.
Following a meticulous restoration process that spanned decades, the concealed figure was unveiled, allowing the painting titled “Bélizaire and the Frey Children,” created by artist Jacques Guillaume Lucien Amans, to be showcased in its original splendor. The artwork portrays three Caucasian children alongside Bélizaire, a 15-year-old Black teenager who was enslaved and became a member of the family at the age of 6. This masterpiece will now grace the halls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
The modified artwork had been safeguarded within the Frey family for well over a century. In 1972, a descendant generously donated the piece to the New Orleans Museum of Art, where it remained stored within their archives until 2005, when it was subsequently auctioned for the sum of $7,200.
In the year 2021, Jeremy K. Simien, an art connoisseur hailing from Louisiana, acquired the artwork for an undisclosed amount and undertook the responsibility of restoring the young Black figure to its rightful place within the painting.
The credit for the restoration of the artwork goes to Jeremy K. Simien, the dedicated art collector. Earlier this month, The Metropolitan Museum of Art proudly announced its acquisition of this significant piece, hailing it as “one of the rarest and most comprehensively documented American portraits featuring a Black individual depicted within the familial context of their white enslaver.”
Jeremy also engaged the services of historian Katy Morlas Shannon to meticulously trace Bélizaire’s historical journey. This research revealed that Bélizaire not only survived the ravages of the Civil War but was also relocated to a sugarcane plantation in Louisiana in 1857. The events that followed this relocation remain shrouded in mystery.
