The Trent House Association, in partnership with the Trenton Historical Society, presents a book talk by Zara Anishanslin on the life of Black American artist, Prince Demah, on Saturday, February 7, at 3 p.m. via Zoom. Registration is required with $15 admission at tinyurl.com/PrinceDemah.
Anishanslin, an associate professor of history and art history at the University of Delaware, is the author of “The Painter’s Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution.” The book was published by Harvard University Press in July, 2025.
In addition to her virtual presentation for the Trent House, Anishanslin also appears at Morven Museum & Garden in Princeton to discuss her book on Sunday, February 22, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Admission to the event is $20 to attend in person or $10 to attend virtually. For more information or to register, visit www.morven.org.
Artist Prince Demah, North America’s first identifiable enslaved portrait painter, lived an extraordinary life in revolutionary times. This talk traces his life, art, and patriotism. From his beginnings as the enslaved son of a woman from Africa in Massachusetts through the unusual training he received in London from award-winning British painter Robert Edge Pine, from his Boston painting career near Phillis Wheatley’s home to his self-emancipation and military service for the American patriot cause, Prince Demah’s life is a remarkable story of his fight for creative and personal freedom. His inspiring story reminds us how artists shaped the Revolution on both sides of the Atlantic and testifies to both the promise and the limits of liberty in the founding era.
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