African American Portraits
“My goal for this project was to create two to three portraits of African Americans taken from the Chesapeake Heartland archive. As this archive is new, what I hope these portraits do is create awareness of the archive and the rich African American history of Kent County, Maryland. As an artist living in Kent County, these portraits are only the beginning. For the viewer, I’d like this fellowship project to serve as an introduction to what I plan on being a significant portion of my practice in the foreseeable future. That is, utilizing this archive and making more portraits based on the photos within it as celebration and memorial to the African American lives of Kent County, Maryland.”
By Jason Patterson
Drawings After Stills from 8mm Footage of the Chestertown Freedom Ride Protest, High st. Chestertown, MD, February 1962
Soft pastel on raw canvas
under clear leveling gel
2022
“The 60-year-old film features scenes from the Freedom Rider protest in Chestertown, Md. that targeted segregated storefronts along High Street, such as Bud's Restaurant and Bar.
The Chestertown Freedom Rider protests were orchestrated in part by the Eastern Shore Project, an initiative of the Civic Interest Group based in Baltimore, MD. Partnering with the Northern Student Movement chapter at Swarthmore College, the Eastern Shore Project recruited college students and civil rights activists from Baltimore and Philadelphia to help organize sit-ins in Chestertown, Princess Anne, Salisbury, Easton, and Cambridge. Leaders and congregants at Bethel A.M.E. and Mt. Olive A.M.E. along with staff, students, and faculty from Washington College joined the activities of the Eastern Shore Project, helping to participate in direct-action protests, organize voter registration, and increase membership in local NAACP and Urban League chapters.” - The Chesapeake Heartland Project
This double portrait was drawn after details from a single photograph dated from the 1890s. The image is of two unidentified African- American men one seated & one standing with his arm on the seated man’s shoulder.
Two Unidentified African American Men, ca 1890s
Soft pastel on raw canvas
under clear leveling gel
mounted on linen
Frame: Stained pine wood & copper leaf
2021
Portrait of Isaac Mason
Soft pastel on raw canvas
under clear leveling gel
with vintage paper
Frame: Stained pine wood
2021
Drawing after a 1974 Kent County News Newspaper photo of Dorothy T. Campher
Soft pastel on raw canvas
under clear leveling gel
Frame: Walnut & copper leaf
2020
The Making of the Portraits
