Prince Demah (March 1778) was an American painter of African ancestry who was formerly enslaved and active in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in the late 1700s. According to The

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, Demah is "the only known enslaved artist working in

colonial America The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...

whose paintings have survived."

Life and career

Demah's mother was an enslaved woman named Daphney. Both he and his mother were baptized at Trinity Church, Boston, in 1745. Demah's purchase by Henry Barnes, a Boston merchant, was recorded in November 1769. Barnes stated that he purchased Demah with the intention of "improving his genius in painting". In October 1770, Barnes took Demah with him on a trip to London. In February of the following year, Barnes recorded that Demah received lessons from "Mr. Pine who has taken him purely for his genius". It is thought that this was the British portrait painter

Robert Edge Pine Robert Edge Pine (1730, London – November 18, 1788, Philadelphia) was an English people, English portrait and historical painter, born in London. He was the son of John Pine, the engraver and designer. He painted portraits, such as those of Geor ...

, who was working in London at the time and later settled in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. There are three known surviving portraits by Demah. His portrait of William Duguid, a Scottish immigrant textile merchant based in Boston, is in the collection of the

in New York City. The artist signed Duguid's portrait "Prince Demah Barnes" and dated it 1773. The portraits of his owners Henry and Christian Barnes of

Marlborough, Massachusetts Marlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 41,793 at the 2020 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high technology industry in the ...

, which were given to the Hingham Historical Society by Susan Barker Willard, although unsigned, are also thought to be by Demah. The Barneses were

loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

and fled to England in 1775 after a series of threatening incidents, including the tarring and feathering of Henry Barnes's horse. Demah remained in Boston. In April 1777, at the outbreak of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, Demah enlisted in the Massachusetts

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

as a free man. The enlistment records show he identified himself as only "Prince Demah", discarding his former enslaver's name. Demah died of an unknown illness, likely

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

, the following year. On March 11, 1778, he wrote his will, which he signed as "Prince Demah of Boston...a

limner A limner is an illuminator of manuscripts, or more generally, a painter of ornamental decoration. One of the earliest mentions of a limner's work is found in the book ''Methods and Materials of Painting'' by Charles Lock Eastlake (1793–1865). ...

" and a "free Negro." Demah bequeathed his estate to his "Loving Mother Daphne Demah". His burial was recorded a week later at Trinity Church, Boston.

References

18th-century American slaves 18th-century American painters 18th-century American male artists African-American painters Painters from Boston 1770s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of birth uncertain People from colonial Massachusetts {{US-painter-stub