Primary sourceSpeech1773
To S. M., a Young African Painter, on Seeing His Works
Phillis Wheatley · 1773
A 1773 poem by Phillis Wheatley praising the work of Scipio Moorhead, an enslaved African-American painter, her only poem addressed to another Black person.
Wheatley wrote this poem to fellow enslaved artist Scipio Moorhead, revealing her connections within a Black artistic circle.
About this source
What it is
Written by Phillis Wheatley and published in her 1773 book Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, this poem is addressed to "S. M.," identified as Scipio Moorhead, an enslaved African-American artist in Boston.
Why it matters
This is Wheatley's only surviving poem addressed to another Black person and her only poem explicitly about artistic creation. It documents a rare glimpse of a Black artistic community in colonial Boston, connecting Wheatley to Moorhead, who is thought to have created her portrait.
Look closer
- Why might this poem be significant as her only one addressed to another Black person?
- What does the poem suggest about the relationship between Wheatley and Moorhead?
- Why do you think so little is known about Moorhead compared to Wheatley?
This speech is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Phyllis Wheatley on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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