John Aylsworth

The self-taught artist Sheldon Peck painted this striking portrait of John Aylsworth shortly after he had assumed the role of printer at the weekly Chicago-American—the second newspaper established in that city—for which he later advanced to the position of head operator of the printing press. Looking intently out at the viewer, Aylsworth sits holding a quill pen, as if to take a momentary rest from his writing. A letter from 1836 lies upon the desk, identifying the sitter and his employer. Both Peck and Aylsworth had recently moved to the Chicago area from the East Coast, and both subsequently were involved with abolitionist politics. In the 1850s, Peck’s house served as a stop on the Underground Railroad, sheltering slaves who had fled North seeking freedom.