Portrait of the Richard W. Habersham Family of Savannah, Georgia
Datec. 1815
Mediumoil on panel
DimensionsFramed: 36 1/2 × 31 5/8 × 4 7/16 inches (92.7 × 80.3 × 11.3 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds provided by the Critz Family, Davida Tenenbaum Deutsch, Barbara and Carl Sassano, Bob and Jean Faircloth, Alice and Bob Jepson, Dayle and Aaron Levy, Melissa Parker, Marilyn and Wayne Sheridan, and Mary E. Raines.
Object number2017.2
CopyrightThe images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextRichard Wylly Habersham, pictured here with his wife Sarah and their children, was a descendant of one of Savannah's founding families and embodied the complexity of the slave system, which was both legal and morally repugnant. Habersham came from a family of enslavers, but did not make most of his wealth through the exploitation of enslaved labor.
Educated at the College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton University), Habersham was serving as US attorney in Savannah when the ship Antelope was brought into port laden with 281 African captives. In spite of his participation in the system of enslavement, Habersham insisted on fighting in the courts for the freedom of the African captives, most of whom were children. The case unfolded dramatically from pirates to the Supreme Court. Ultimately, half of the captives died in horrible conditions in Savannah, and the US government sold another 39 to private enslavers. In the end, 120 captives were sent to Liberia on the west coast of Africa, thousands of miles from the areas they called home.
