Historical photographs are usually handled with great care – handled with gloves, stored in acid-free paper and protective bags, and hidden away from light and heat.
But when Hollywood producer Joey McFarland showed up at the movie’s red carpet premiere Release Last month in Los Angeles, he showed what he said was an original take photo of an enslaved man known as “Whipped Peter,” who inspired the Apple movie starring Will Smith that he produced.
“This is the original photograph from 1863,” McFarland said. diverse in the event. “And I wanted it to be here tonight. I wanted a piece of Peter to be here tonight. It’s sad to say that a lot of the images weren’t preserved, curated, or respected.”
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McFarland waved the photo, as did his comments on diverseIt was instantly vilified by notable black entertainment and cultural figures, such as Franklin Leonard, film executive and founder of The Blacklist, an annual survey of the most popular films. scenarios Not yet produced, and Nayyera Haq, SiriusXM radio host.
Leonard, Haq, and others honed in on McFarland’s obscenity while holding the photo at the premiere as if they might bring home a rare comic from a superhero movie premiere release and expressed concern at the fact that the photo was in private hands, not in an institution like the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC).
Regarding the latter, the subject matter experts said ARTnews That McFarland’s ownership of the “Whipped Peter” image is indicative of a much larger problem. Namely, the widespread ownership of black historical photographs by private collectors and the increasing value of those memorabilia in recent years pose serious challenges to preservation efforts.
“Whipped Peter” is well known to historians
Picture “Whipped Peter”, better known as “back skinIn the image, an escaped slave named Gordon is shown with severely raised, keloid scars as a result of being flogged on a plantation in Mississippi.
Soon after McPherson and Oliver took possession of it in 1863, Harper’s Weekly Post the photo. It – and Gordon’s story – quickly became popular and the photo was widely distributed, as a print of the famous photographic card, known as Carte de Visite, or CDV for short. Many photography studios have produced and sold their own CDVs of the image.
As such, there is no shortage of “back skin” CDVs: The Library of Congress holds one from the original photographers; the National Portrait Gallery He has a version produced by Matthew Brady Studio; and the New York Public Library He has a copy from Charles Seaver Studio.
It is unclear who produced the McFarland-owned CDV. However, it is He is It is original in the sense that it was produced during the time period, said Helena Zinkam, chief of the Prints and Photographs Division at the Library of Congress. ARTnews in a letter.
But “The Scourged Back” is far from the only CDV, or historical black picture, McFarland owns. after Release First backlash, it was revealed that McFarland owns an entire collection of historical black photos, many of which he posted to Instagram under the hashtag #McFarland Collection. For example, McFarland published an 1884 CDV of ex-enslaved Lewis Charlton, which was sold at Swann Auctions Galleries for $406 in 2015. Earlier this year, McFarland published 1863 CDV by McPherson & Oliver of two young black men sold for $17,500 and Swan considered it a rarity.
In some ways, the McFarland group is no stranger. According to Ron Coddington, editor and publisher of Civil War Photography military photos and an active CDV collectorAnd the CDVs were originally meant to be private. “Their destination was a photo album in someone’s salon in the 19th century,” he said. ARTnews.
In the 1960s, pictures began to be sold at flea markets and antique stores, and collectors began assembling collections. However, over the past fifteen years, museums and institutions have made a push to restore many of these images.
There are major roadblocks. According to Coddington, millions of Civil War photos are currently in the hands of private collectors and CDVs regularly sell at auctions, as well as on Facebook Marketplace and dealer websites.
Many institutions have archives dedicated to preserving, curating, and researching black historical images, including Getty Archivethe Gladstone Group At the Library of Congress, NMAAHC, International Center for Photography Daniel Quinn Collectionand the Stony Island Arts Bankas well as photography collections at colleges and universities and over 100 other black history museums across the United States.
However, the chronic underfunding African American Museums And the Historically black colleges and universities He often limits the budgets for this business. In 2019, the operating budget for NMAAHC, the premier African American museum, is 51 million dollars. By comparison, the Museum of Modern Art’s operating budget is over $250 million for the same period. According to 2021 report From the Urban Institute, an economic and social policy research organization.
Higher prices can make saving more difficult
Meanwhile, the value of CDVs is rising due to increased aggregator demand, according to Coddington.
“Going into five figures isn’t unusual,” Coddington said. “Images of African Americans have always commanded higher prices compared to their white counterparts… In recent years, there has been such an explosion in prices.”
Last year, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston purchased a CD called “Back to Skin” for her group From Swan Auctions for $8,400. Then, in February, Hindman Auctions sold a McPherson & Oliver “Scourged Back” CDV for $12,500. In April, Los Angeles-based auction house Nate D. Sanders She posted a call on her website Collectors to sell CDVs with the company. The call said the auction house recently sold one for $40,000. Meanwhile, in an apology posted to Instagram in early December, McFarland He indicated that he had loaned a photo Martin Delaney at the National Portrait Gallery. This picture appears to be the same one sold at Cowan Auction House for $59,375 in 2020.
While McFarland did not take note of the price increase in his apology, he did acknowledge critics’ discomfort with his ownership of the group. “My plan has always been to donate the images to the appropriate institution, in consultation with the community…”, he said. “My goal has always been to find the right permanent home and make sure it is accessible, respectful of its importance.”
It seems likely though Release And McFarland’s decision to move the “Scorched Back” CDV to premiere will only increase the value of the picture, and thus benefit him personally. As noted by Leonard on TwitterMcFarland gives no specific timetable for the collection’s donation.
When he donates the business, any increase in value will benefit him for tax purposes, according to certified financial planner Paul Caspersen
Higher prices would make the photographs more valuable and desirable to private collectors, and thus inaccessible to black museums, research institutions, and universities with limited acquisition budgets.
“The number of individuals who can put tens of thousands of dollars into one picture, it’s a pretty small group,” Coddington said.
McFarland did not respond to a request for comment.
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