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Thomas Satterwhite Noble (1835- 1907): Reconstructed Rebel

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Thomas Satterwhite Noble (1835- 1907): Reconstructed Rebel ABSTRACT Title of Document: THOMAS SATTERWHITE NOBLE (1835- 1907): RECONSTRUCTED REBEL Tuliza Kamirah Fleming, Doctor of Philosophy, 2007 Directed By: Professor, Sally Promey, Department of Art History and Archaeology Thomas Satterwhite Noble was a Southerner, a member of slave-owning family, a confederate soldier, and an artist who painted history paintings relating to slavery and freedom in the United States. Between 1865 and 1870, Noble created a series of paintings that directly confronted white America’s ambivalent feelings with regard to the issues of slavery, emancipation, and integration—earning him the moniker “reconstructed rebel.” The American Slave Mart, 1865 was the first monumental treatment of a slave auction by an American painter and effectively launched his career as an artist of national recognition. Noble was strongly influenced by his French teacher and mentor, Thomas Couture, and his seminal painting Decadence of the Romans when he painted The American Slave Mart. Two years later, buoyed by his success of his first history painting, Noble created the contemporary history paintings Margaret Garner and John Brown’s Blessing. Both paintings featured individuals who risked themselves and those they loved in the pursuit of freedom and liberty. In 1868 Noble The Price of Blood, A Planter Selling His Son, a painting which revealed the Southern practice of slave owners selling their slave/children for profit. In 1870, Noble painted a simplified replica of The American Slave Mart titled, The Last Sale of Slaves in St. Louis. This painting was created at a very difficult time in the artist’s career and represents a desire for him to be seen as part of the greater Cincinnati community. Thomas Satterwhite Noble: A Reconstructed Rebel examines how Noble’s African American imagery reflected and interpreted issues concerning slavery in the upper South, the internal slave trade, miscegenation, and abolition. This study shifts the scholarly emphasis on Noble’s oeuvre from discussions relating to the manner in which African Americans were portrayed before and after slavery to how these images were perceived by contemporary reconstruction audiences. THOMAS SATTERWHITE NOBLE (1835-1907): RECONSTRUCTED REBEL By Tuliza Fleming Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2007 Advisory Committee: Professor Sally Promey, Chair Professor Renee Ater Professor Anthony Colantuono Professor Emeritus David Driskell Professor Franklin Kelly The dissertation document that follows has had referenced material removed in respect for the owner’s copyright. A complete version of this document, which includes said referenced material, resides in the University of Maryland, College Park’s library collection. © Copyright by Tuliza Fleming 2007 Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my family, John Fleming, Barbara Fleming, and Diara Spelmon who encouraged me and loved me with all of their hearts. ii Acknowledgements I want to express my gratitude to the Department of Art History and Archaeology of the University of Maryland at College Park for the generous support that made this dissertation possible. I want to warmly thank my advisor, Sally Promey, whose professional and moral support aided me throughout the process of writing my dissertation. Her encouragement and advice were both critical and welcome in this exercise. I am grateful to my dissertation committee, who included Franklin Kelly, Renee Ater, and Anthony Colantuono, for providing useful insight and commentary on my dissertation. Special thanks go out to Anthony Colantuono for agreeing to serve on my committee at such a late date. I am especially thankful for the generous support of David Driskell, my Dean’s representative, for all of his guidance, inspiration, and generosity with his time. His ongoing encouragement while I worked on this project went above and beyond the call of duty and for that I am truly grateful. I would like to thank the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of The African Diaspora for awarding me a dissertation fellowship in the 2005-2006 academic year. This funding, which was supported by the National Associates Fund (established by Arthur and Ruby McZier), afforded me much needed time to dedicate to the research of this project. In addition to the wonderful people at the University of Maryland, there were many other people who have provided me with professional and moral support during my journey. Many thanks go out to Ellen Rohmiller, the librarian at The Dayton Art iii Institute, who tirelessly worked with me to get the research materials I needed to complete my dissertation. I would like to thank James Birchfield who provided me with much needed contacts and information. Thanks go out to Rosamond Dauer who spoke to me at length about her great grandfather, Thomas Satterwhite Noble. I also wish to thank William H. Gerdts for generously granting me access to the Thomas Satterwhite Noble research collection located in his private collection. My friends and colleagues Martha Bari, Leslie Brice, Elizabeth Tobey, Chris Slogar, Akua McDaniel, Jackie Francis, and Adrienne Childs deserve special notice for their encouragements and insights into my project. Finally, I would like to thank my family for all their tireless support of me during this entire process. My sister, Diara Spelman, has always been there for me to discuss my project and offer me unconditional love and support. I am eternally grateful to my parents John and Barbara Fleming who stood by me every step of the way. Both of them generously agreed to read my dissertation and discuss with me points of history, art history, and style. Their dedication to me and my work during this period has been a blessing and I am truly thankful for their time and their steadfast love. iv Table of Contents Dedication..................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements......................................................................................................iii Table of Contents.......................................................................................................... v List of Illustrations...................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: Introduction................................................................................................. 1 Methodology............................................................................................................. 2 Literature Review: Exhibitions and Catalogues ....................................................... 4 Literature Review: Articles and Essays .................................................................. 11 Literature Review: General Texts........................................................................... 18 Chapter Topics........................................................................................................ 19 Chapter 2: Thomas Satterwhite Noble: Historical Context, Biography, and Artistic Influences.................................................................................................................... 24 Kentucky and the Dilemma of Slavery and the Internal Slave Trade..................... 27 The Noble Family and Slavery ............................................................................... 34 Noble’s Art Education and Influences.................................................................... 42 Chapter 3: The American Slave Mart: A Bid for National Recognition ..................... 49 Thomas Couture...................................................................................................... 51 Noble and Thomas Couture .................................................................................... 53 Noble’s Participation in the Civil War.................................................................... 55 Noble Returns from the War................................................................................... 59 Couture’s Influence—Decadence of the Romans................................................... 76 Noble’s The American Slave Mart ......................................................................... 78 The Decision to Show The American Slave Mart .................................................. 84 Response to The American Slave Mart .................................................................. 86 Chapter 4: The Making of a Reconstructed Rebel: Margaret Garner and John Brown’s Blessing....................................................................................................................... 95 Margaret Garner...................................................................................................... 97 Margaret Garner—The Painting ........................................................................... 103 Comparisons to David’s Oath of the Horatii ........................................................ 106 The Modern Medea—Miscegenation and the Garner family............................... 108 Response to Margaret Garner ............................................................................... 110 John Brown ........................................................................................................... 112 John Brown Kissing the Negro Baby...................................................................
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