Granville Sharp the Abolitionist Rescuing a Slave from the Hands of His Master | Hayllar, James | V&A Explore The Collections (original) (raw)
James Hayllar (1829-1920) was a successful painter best known for his portraits and his genre paintings of children. This painting depicts the prominent abolitionist and author Granville Sharp (1735-1813). The painting refers to an event in 1765 which triggered Sharp's interest in Abolition. In 1765 Sharp met Jonathan Strong, a slave seeking treatment for injuries sustained at the hands of his owner. Sharp took up Strong's case and secured his release from prison when he was arrested as an escaped slave. Following this success Sharp began to research the legal status of slaves in Britain (as opposed to in British colonies) and argued on behalf of a number of slaves in court, hence the legal setting of this painting.
Object details
| Categories | PaintingsBlack History |
|---|---|
| Object type | Oil painting |
| Title | Granville Sharp the Abolitionist Rescuing a Slave from the Hands of His Master (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Oil on canvasOil PaintCanvasOil Painting |
| Brief description | Oil painting, 'Granville Sharp the abolitionist rescuing a slave from the hands of his master' by James Hayllar, 1864. |
| Dimensions | Estimate height: 33.625inEstimate width: 43.5inFrame height: 1200mmFrame width: 1450mmFrame depth: 90mmDimensions taken from Summary catalogue of British Paintings, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1973 |
| Styles | British SchoolVictorian |
| Marks and inscriptions | (Signed and dated 1864) |
| Credit line | Given by W. Hargreaves |
| Object history | Given by W. Hargreaves, 1874 |
| Summary | James Hayllar (1829-1920) was a successful painter best known for his portraits and his genre paintings of children. This painting depicts the prominent abolitionist and author Granville Sharp (1735-1813). The painting refers to an event in 1765 which triggered Sharp's interest in Abolition. In 1765 Sharp met Jonathan Strong, a slave seeking treatment for injuries sustained at the hands of his owner. Sharp took up Strong's case and secured his release from prison when he was arrested as an escaped slave. Following this success Sharp began to research the legal status of slaves in Britain (as opposed to in British colonies) and argued on behalf of a number of slaves in court, hence the legal setting of this painting. |
| Associated object | 1:1-1874 |
| Bibliographic reference | Arthur Torrington, ed. Equiano: Enslavement, resistance and abolition Birmingham: Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, 2007. ISBN: 0709302575 |
| Collection | Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection |
| Accession number | 1-1874 |
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