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You are invited to share in a colonial Philadelphia love story, reflected through the 1841 wedding portraits of Hiram and Elizabeth Montier, two African American citizens whose heritage can be traced back to the city’s first mayor, Humphrey Morrey, appointed by William Penn. Hiram Charles Montier, a bootmaker on N.W. 7th Street at the time of the painting, and his wife Elizabeth, whom family records indicate had lived in Northern Liberties, were members of one of the largest free African American communities in the North. Painted by Franklin R. Street, the portraits are owned by their descendants, Mr. and Mrs. William Pickens, III of New York. They are on long-term loan to the Museum, and are currently on view in Gallery 101. In the Van Pelt Auditorium, Mark Mitchell, Assistant Curator of American Art will present "The Montier Portraits in Context," followed by Dr. William Pickens III, who will speak on "The Morreys and the Montiers of Philadelphia: A Colonial Love Story." Click here for more information. |
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Image credit:
Elizabeth Brown Montier and Hiram Charles Montier, painted by Franklin R. Street (American, 1815/16 – before 1894). Collection of Mr. and Mrs. William Pickens, III
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