The Captive Slave (Ira Aldridge)
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “The Captive Slave (Ira Aldridge)” now? Art Institute of Chicago, Gallery 220, Chicago. Yes, on view now. Checked September 29, 2026.
Chicago, United States
Closed· opens at 11:00 AM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
The Captive Slave is a painting by British artist John Simpson, which was first exhibited in London in 1827. The portrait shows a man, manacled, on a stone bench and looking pensively or plaintively upward. Its subject matter, historical period, and mode of creation suggest the artist intended the painting as an abolitionist statement.
After being displayed again in 1828, the painting was not given another public showing for 180 years, until it was purchased by the Art Institute of Chicago in 2008.
In the museum's words
This depiction of an enslaved man constituted a timely abolitionist appeal in the years leading up to the British Emancipation Act of 1833. The subject raises his head and eyes toward the heavens, echoing the conventional poses for Christian saints and martyrs. John Philip Simpson thus used familiar iconography to appeal to the sentimentality and supposed moral superiority of wealthy white viewers with the requisite power to sway public policy.
But the deeply moving pose also reflects the artistic contribution of the man who modeled for the figure, now identified as Ira Aldridge, a free-born American actor famous for playing the title role in Shakespeare’s Othello. His performance in Thomas Morton’s musical drama The Slave may have been the immediate inspiration for Simpson’s painting. Aldridge was also renowned for his persuasive speeches for the abolitionist cause.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Details
- Accession number
- 2008.188
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — CC0
