Skip to main content

Secondary sourcePainting

William Lloyd Garrison

Edwin Tryon Billings

A formal oil portrait of William Lloyd Garrison in later life, painted by Edwin T. Billings and held at the New-York Historical Society.

This painting is a formal later-life portrait of Garrison as an honored elder reformer.

Ask William Lloyd Garrison about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Oil portrait of an elderly bald man with wire-rimmed spectacles and a dark suit with white collar and cravat, set against a dark oval background, with a faint signature at lower right.
Edwin Tryon Billings, William Lloyd Garrison. New-York Historical Society.

About this source

What it is

This is an oil painting of William Lloyd Garrison, made by the artist Edwin Tryon Billings. It is held by the New-York Historical Society.

Why it matters

This portrait was painted later in Garrison's life, showing him as an elderly, respected figure. By this time, Garrison had become a widely honored reformer, and portraits like this one reflect how he was remembered and celebrated after decades of abolitionist work.

Look closer

  • What details in the painting—his clothing, expression, posture—suggest how the artist wanted viewers to see him?
  • Why might a formal portrait be made of someone later in their life rather than when they were young and active?
  • What is left out of a painting like this that a photograph or letter might show instead?

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.

More William Lloyd Garrison sources

Meet the AI William Lloyd Garrison →
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

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.Painting

Primary source

William Lloyd Garrison

Nathaniel Jocelyn · 1833

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

Ready when you are

Start chatting with William Lloyd Garrison now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions