William Simpson (portrait artist)

Not to be confused with William Simpson (artist).

William Simpson

Born|

William H. Simpson

c.1818

Buffalo, New York, US

Died| 1872

Boston, Massachusetts, US

Occupation| Portrait painter
Known for| Painting, civil right activist

Portrait of Bishop Jermain Wesley Loguen (1835) by William Simpson

William H. Simpson (c.1818 – 1872)[1] was an African American artist and civil right activist in the 19th century, known for his portraits.

## Contents

* 1 Bibliography
* 2 See also
* 3 Further reading
* 4 References

## Bibliography[edit]

William Simpson was born c.1818 in Buffalo, New York to an African American family.[2] He apprenticed with British–American Neoclassical portraitist and miniature painter, Matthew Henry Wilson (1814–1892).[2][3] In 1854, Simpson moved to Boston where he became known for his portrait paintings.[2] He is known for his portraits of Jermain Wesley Loguen, a former slave who became bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in New York.[2] Other subjects of his portrait paintings include Caroline Loguen, the wife of Jermain Loguen; Charles Sumner, the abolitionist and statesman; and John T. Hilton, the abolitionist, author, and businessman.[4]

After 1866, Simpson moved back to Buffalo, New York, and also lived throughout the Northern part of the United States and Canada.[5] He became an active speaker against slavery and participated in the Underground Railroad.[5] His painting style and aesthetic was influenced by European painting, which was common at the time for American artists.[5] However unlike the majority of American artists of his time, Simpson documented the lives of the first African American leaders.[5]

His work is included in public museum collections including at Howard University Gallery ot Art,[2][4] and the Frick Collection in the art reference library.[6]

## See also[edit]

* List of African-American visual artists

## Further reading[edit]

* Brown, William Wells (1874). The Rising Sun, or the Antecedents and Advancement of the Colored Race. The Basic Afro-American Reprint Library. Boston, MA: A. G. Brown. pp. 478–480. ISBN 9780598578051.

## References[edit]

1. ^ Irvine, Betty Jo (1969). Fine Arts and the Black American, Issue 6. Indiana University Libraries. p. 14.
2. ^ a b c d e "Simpson, William H.". Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Oxford University Press. October 31, 2011. doi:10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.b00204445. ISBN 978-0-19-977378-7. Retrieved December 21, 2020.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
3. ^ Brown, William Wells (1874). The Rising Son: Or, The Antecedents and Advancement of the Colored Race. The Basic Afro-American Reprint Library. Boston, MA: A. G. Brown. pp. 478–480. ISBN 978-0-598-57805-1.
4. ^ a b Dickason Cederholm, Theresa (1973). Afro-American Artists: A Bio-Bibliographical Directory. Boston Public Library. Boston, MA: Trustees of the Boston Public Library. p. 258\. ISBN 978-0-89073-007-2.
5. ^ a b c d Lewis, Samella S. (2003). African American Art and Artists. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0-520-23935-7.
6. ^ Simpson, William H. (1920), William H. Simpson c.1818–1872: artist file, Frick Art Reference Library, retrieved December 21, 2020

* v
* t
* e

Boston African American community prior to the Civil War

* Boston African American National Historic Site
* Black Heritage Trail
* Slavery in the colonial United States

Prominent individuals|

* Macon Bolling Allen (lawyer, judge)
* William G. Allen (college professor)
* Crispus Attucks (killed during Boston Massacre)
* Leonard Black (minister, slave memoirist)
* John P. Coburn (abolitionist, soldier)
* Ellen and William Craft (slave memoirists, abolitionists)
* Rebecca Lee Crumpler (physician)
* Lucy Lew Dalton (abolitionist)
* Thomas Dalton (abolitionist)
* Hosea Easton (abolitionist, minister)
* Moses Grandy (abolitionist, slave memoirist)
* Leonard Grimes (abolitionist, minister)
* Primus Hall (abolitionist, Rev. War soldier)
* Prince Hall (freemason, abolitionist)
* Lewis Hayden (abolitionist, politician)
* John T. Hilton (abolitionist, author, businessman)
* Thomas James (minister)
* Barzillai Lew (Rev. War soldier)
* George Latimer (escaped slave)
* Walker Lewis (abolitionist)
* George Middleton (1735–1815) (Rev. War soldier, Freemason, activist)
* Robert Morris (lawyer, abolitionist, judge)
* William Cooper Nell (abolitionist, writer)
* Susan Paul (teacher, abolitionist, author)
* Thomas Paul (minister)
* John Swett Rock (dentist, doctor, lawyer, abolitionist)
* John Brown Russwurm (college grad., teacher)
* John J. Smith (abolitionist, politician)
* Maria W. Stewart (abolitionist, public speaker, journalist)
* Baron Stow (minister)
* Samuel Snowden (minister, abolitionist)
* Edward G. Walker (abolitionist, lawyer, politician, son of David Walker)
* David Walker (abolitionist, father of Edward G. Walker)
* Phillis Wheatley (poet, author)

Relevant topics and
associated individuals|

| Black nationalism|

* Back-to-Africa movement (See Paul Cuffe \- William Gwinn)

|

Legal cases|

* Dred Scott v. Sandford 1857 Supreme Court decision
* Freedom suits of 1781 (See Elizabeth Freeman \- Quock Walker)
* Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 (See: Anthony Burns \- Shadrach Minkins \- Thomas Sims)

History of slavery|

* Charles Apthorp
* Bunch-of-Grapes
* Merchants Row

Organizations|

| Abolitionism|

* Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society (interracial)
* Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society (interracial)
* Massachusetts General Colored Association (abolitionism, equality)
* Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society (interracial)
* Prince Hall Freemasonry

|

Education|

* Home of Primus Hall (1798-1806)
* African Meeting House (1806-1835)
* Abiel Smith School (1835-?)

Religion|

* African Meeting House
* Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church
* Rowe Street Baptist Church
* Twelfth Baptist Church

Other|

* Bucks of America (Mass. Rev. War soldiers)
* Prince Hall Freemasonry

Historic sites
or neighborhoods|

* Abiel Smith School
* African Meeting House and Museum
* Black Beacon Hill (Joy Street, Southack Street (now Phillips))
* Black Heritage Trail
* Boston African American National Historic Site
* Charles Street Meeting House
* John Coburn House
* Lewis and Harriet Hayden House
* George Middleton House
* William C. Nell House
* Phillips School
* John J. Smith House

Influential publications|

* Freedom's Journal
* The Liberator
* Walker's Appeal

Related|

* Copp's Hill Burying Ground
* William Lloyd Garrison
* Isaac Knapp
* Abolition Riot of 1836

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