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Primary sourcePainting1833

William Lloyd Garrison

Nathaniel Jocelyn · 1833

An 1833 oil portrait of the young abolitionist editor William Lloyd Garrison, painted by Nathaniel Jocelyn.

This portrait depicts Garrison himself in the early years of his abolitionist career.

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Oil portrait of a balding older man with wire-rimmed spectacles, wearing a black coat, white shirt, and black neckcloth, against a dark brown background. He faces forward with a neutral expression.
Nathaniel Jocelyn, William Lloyd Garrison, 1833. National Portrait Gallery.

About this source

What it is

This oil painting by Nathaniel Jocelyn shows William Lloyd Garrison in 1833. It is held by the National Portrait Gallery. Garrison was then a young editor, at the time he founded the American Anti-Slavery Society.

Why it matters

The portrait captures Garrison in the formative years of his antislavery career, soon after he launched The Liberator. It shows how he wanted to be seen, or at least how a sympathetic artist chose to show him, at a moment when his ideas were still controversial. Portraits like this helped shape the public image of abolitionist leaders.

Look closer

  • What impression does the painting give of Garrison's character?
  • Why might an artist's choices in a portrait matter for how we remember a historical figure?
  • What does the plain, formal style suggest about how Garrison wanted to be presented?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of William Lloyd Garrison on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Yellowed title page of the 1845 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Text reads 'Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself', 'Boston: Published at the Anti-Slavery Office, No. 25 Cornhill, 1845'.Book

Primary source

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

Frederick Douglass · 1845

Title page of 'Thoughts on African Colonization' (Boston, 1832). Large heading reads 'Thoughts on African Colonization: or an impartial exhibition of the doctrines, principles and purposes of the American Colonization Society', with text 'together with the resolutions, addresses and remonstrances of the free people of color'. Epigraphs from the Bible appear below, followed by 'By Wm. Lloyd Garrison'. Imprint: 'Boston: Printed and published by Garrison and Knapp, No. 11, Merchants' Hall, 1832'.Book

Primary source

Thoughts on African Colonization

William Lloyd Garrison · 1832

Masthead of The Liberator newspaper, an engraved illustration with the title THE LIBERATOR in large letters across the bottom. Scenes include an auction of enslaved people with a sign reading slaves, horses, sheep, and other goods, a central robed figure with arms raised breaking chains, enslaved people working in fields, and a gate at right. Below the title is the motto Our Country is the World, our Countrymen are all Mankind.Newspaper article

Primary source

The Liberator, 15 December 1854

Hammatt Billings · 15 December 1854

Front page of The Liberator, Boston, Friday, January 3, 1862, Vol. XXXII, No. 1, Whole No. 1619. A woodcut vignette of figures, including a standing woman, sits above the masthead. Dense columns of small printed text fill the page.Newspaper article

Primary source

The Liberator

William Lloyd Garrison · 1831-1865

Oil painting portrait of a middle-aged man with thinning dark hair, wire-rimmed spectacles, and a pink-tinged complexion. He wears a black coat, white collar, and black cravat, against a dark brown background.Painting

Primary source

Portrait of William Lloyd Garrison

Nathaniel Jocelyn · 1833

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