Phillis Wheatley

What it is

This engraving of Phillis Wheatley served as the frontispiece to her 1773 poetry collection. The original painting is lost, but copies of the print survive at institutions including the National Portrait Gallery. It is believed to be based on a work by Scipio Moorhead, an enslaved African American artist in Boston whom Wheatley praised in one of her poems.

Why it matters

The publisher required a portrait to help prove that an African American woman had really written the poems. The image shows Wheatley seated with a pen, an unusual depiction of a woman writing, and is possibly the earliest such portrayal in American art. It also links two enslaved Black artists of the same era.

Look closer

• Why did the publisher insist on including a portrait of the author?
• What does the pose, pen in hand, suggest about how Wheatley wanted to be seen?
• Why do we know so little for certain about the artist who made it?