Name/Title
Portrait of Parson DickEntry/Object ID
A.0006Description
Portrait of Parson DickArtwork Details
Medium
OilSubject
Parson Dick, a carriage driver, groom, and butler from New Orleans serving on the Forks of Cypress plantation.Subject Place
* Untyped Subject Place
Forks of CypressCity
Florence, AlabamaContext
Dick was enslaved at the Forks of Cypress, purchased in New Orleans and brought to Alabama for his skills with handling horses.
Edward Troye, an artist famous for his portraits of horses, came to the Forks of Cypress at least twice. Troye first visited in 1838 when he painted Leviathan, and then in 1842 to paint Glencoe. On one of these trips to the Forks, Troye painted Parson Dick.
According to art historian Jessica Dallow:
"Created with broad, loose strokes, its sensitive handling indicates that Troye endeavored to portray his subject with dignity. Parson Dick, thought to be of Creole descent, seems every bit the aloof gentleman in blue suit coat and white cravat. His expression is composed and somewhat calculating, boldly meeting the gaze of the viewer, with wide eyes, aquiline nose, furrowed brow, and fashionable sideburns. His age looks to be about thirty." Dallow describes how Dick's look is not one of "unwavering devotion" as enslaved people were often portrayed. It was a look of "a certain disdain."