Twelve Years a Slave

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Artistic Renderings of the Enslaved Person’s Experience Both Past and Present, From Frederick Coffin to Marcus Brown”

In this activity, students will reflect upon the original line drawings’ effect on the text of Twelve Years a Slave, and in doing so learn about past and present ways visual art is used to document (and sometimes process) a deeply troubled past.

There are seven pieces of line art depicting Solomon Northup’s journey interspersed throughout the text. Each of the seven pieces portrays a key moment in Northup’s stories, as reflected in their titles: (1) Portrait of Solomon in his Plantation Suit, (2) Scene in the Slave Pen at Washington, (3) Separation of Eliza and her Last Child, (4) Chapin Rescues Solomon from Hanging, (5) the Staking Out and Flogging of the Girl Patsey, (6) Scene in the Cotton Field, and Solomon’s Delivery, and (7) Arrival Home, and First Meeting with His Wife and Children.

In this activity, you’ll look at Twelve Years a Slave from a new angle, focusing on visual art and how that helps in the processing of trauma of slavery and the search for truth, both by Northup and in Black modern art.

• First, consider the line art drawn by Frederick Coffin in the original text. Discuss in small groups: What effect does the artwork have upon your reception of the book? Why do you think Northrup/Wilson opted to include them in his memoir? Did you find any of the drawings particularly interesting or disturbing?
• Next, compare the line art to other depictions of slavery in antebellum art, as described in Rachel Stephen’s National of Gallery Art report entitled “Hidden in Plain Sight: Slavery and Concealment in Antebellum American Art.” In your small groups, find the similarities between this art and Coffin’s line drawings. What are the differences?
• Finally, research modern depictions of slavery. How do modern artists process the trauma of slavery? What are other examples of artists that attempt to confront the horrors of this period in American history?
• Finally, discuss this as a class: how do you think Northup would respond to modern artists’ methods of processing slavery through their art? What do you think he would say about the nature of “truth” in their work?

Teaching Suggestion: If the students are working from an edition of Twelve Years a Slave that does not include the line drawings, you may access them at the New York Library’s digital collection of materials related to Twelve Years a Slave. Also, prior to beginning this activity, you may want to prime students on how to view, analyze, and think about art critique by reading this brief primer by Skidmore College on the subject, “Visual Analysis Guidelines.”

• Marcus Brown’s augmented “metaverse” virtual exhibit that depicts Solomon Northup in New Orleans may be useful in researching modern depictions of slavery.