15/07/2025
Nice. He has a familiar face . Paul Moony, OJ Simpson. Nice Coat!
This striking half-length portrait depicts Thomas Howland, a dockworker from Providence, Rhode Island, seated with a composed, confident expression. Dressed in a dark green coat with a velvet collar, a crisp white wing-collar shirt, and a black cravat, Howland exudes self-possession and, dare I say, cool. In 1857, he became the first black elected official in Providence but soon chose to emigrate to Liberia after the Dred Scott decision denied African Americans federal citizenship. Although a free man with voting rights, his passport application was initially denied; nevertheless, he eventually made the journey to Liberia with his wife and daughter. You can see this portrait alongside other nineteenth-century portraits of black dandy in "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style."
