New-York Historical Society Presents Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw , January 27-May28, 2023

 

New-York Historical Society Presents Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw, Revealing the Extraordinary Story of a Black Artisan in Post-Revolutionary New York 

Based on Recently Discovered Evidence, Exhibition Shines a New Light on New York’s Free Black Community in the Early 1800s

On view January 27 – May 28, 2023

 

Images (left to right, top to bottom)

●         Thomas W. Commeraw, Jar, ca. 1800-1819. New-York Historical Society, Gift of Samuel V. Hoffman, 1927.84.

●         Thomas W. Commeraw, Jug, ca. 1800-1819. New-York Historical Society, Purchased from Elie Nadelman, 1937.820.

          

 – This winter, the New-York Historical Society presents Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw, the first exhibition to bring overdue attention to Thomas W. Commeraw, a successful Black craftsman who was long assumed to be white. Formerly enslaved, Commeraw rose to prominence as a free Black entrepreneur, owning and operating a successful pottery in the city. Over a period of two decades, he amassed property, engaged in debates over state and national politics, and participated in New York City’s free Black community. On view January 27 – May 28, 2023, the exhibition explores Commeraw’s multi-faceted history as a craftsman, business owner, family man, and citizen through approximately 40 pieces of stoneware produced by Commeraw and his competitors between the late 1790s and 1819, in the largest presentation of his work to date. Alongside these pieces are the primary documents that enabled historians to reconstruct the arc of his professional career and personal life, and through them convey a deeper understanding of free Black society in New York in the years between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.

 

“Crafting Freedom continues the tradition at New-York Historical of presenting groundbreaking exhibitions that reveal the complex dimensions of race in the early years of New York City and our nation,” said Dr. Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of New-York Historical. “Through this exhibition of Thomas W. Commeraw and his work, we gain an in-depth understanding of a Black artisan’s life in New York, while also seeing how our understanding of history continues to evolve to give us greater insight into issues that affect our society today. This exhibition will transform our visitors’ perspective on New York’s free Black community, challenging long-held myths about post-revolutionary race relations in northern states.” 

“This exhibition illuminates the story of a man who was emancipated as a child, went on to own and operate his own business, and advocated for the rights of full citizenship for his fellow Black Americans,” said Margi Hofer, New-York Historical’s vice president and museum director, who co-curated the exhibition. “While Commeraw’s distinctive pottery has been admired and collected for over a century, his true story has been obscured for far too long. It is incredibly meaningful that we are able to bring to light a true portrait of the man, both as a citizen and as a craftsman.”

 

The New York City directories first list Thomas “Commerau” working as a potter in 1795, living near Pot Baker’s Hill in the vicinity of today’s City Hall. By 1797, he had established his own workshop at Corlears Hook on the East River. There, he produced vessels in the local tradition, often decorated with distinctive flourishes of swags, tassels, and bowknot motifs filled with vivid cobalt. Stoneware vessels were essential kitchenware in that era and stored everything from milk, butter, salted meat, and preserves to molasses, cider, and beer. Commeraw also manufactured oyster jars for the city’s oystermen, who were predominantly from the free Black community. His crocks and jugs traveled on ships to ports along the eastern seaboard and as far afield as Guyana and Norway. Most of the Commeraw vessels that survive today are boldly stamped with his name and the location of his pottery at Manhattan’s Corlears Hook. In addition to signaling pride in his work, Commeraw’s prominent branding helped him attract and retain customers.

In addition to revealing Commeraw’s successes and struggles as a pottery owner in a city riven by racism, the exhibition explores his commitment to securing a better future for the Black community through his work with abolitionist, political, religious, and mutual aid organizations. In 1790, the majority of Black New Yorkers were enslaved. By 1810, 6 out of 7 were free. Businessmen like Commeraw faced daunting challenges, not just raising capital but building civic and religious organizations to support the Black community. Free Black men had voted in New York since the Revolution, but in 1811, the state legislature passed a law to suppress Black voters, requiring them to submit a Certificate of Freedom that included a sworn statement from a third party attesting to the voter’s free status and residency and to pay a filing fee. A highlight of the exhibition is the 1813 Certificate of Freedom held by New-York Historical’s Patricia D. Klingenstein Library that bears Commeraw’s confident signature as witness. It is the only confirmed manuscript in his hand. The exhibition also examines how Black New Yorkers responded to economic and political oppression by developing a lively cultural and artistic community.

 

The final chapter in Commeraw’s story concerns his effort to promote the emigration of Black settlers to Sierra Leone, as the prospect of full citizenship for Black New Yorkers dimmed. Commeraw traveled there with his extended family in 1820 on the first voyage of the American Colonization Society. He arrived full of optimism and plans to found a Black republic; instead, he experienced unimaginable hardship and tragedy. What began as a venture for political rights ended as a struggle for survival. Many of the settlers died of malaria, including Commeraw’s wife and niece. He returned to the U.S. in 1822 and died the following year in Baltimore. The exhibition closes with a coda that describes future generations of the Commeraw family carrying forward the potter’s entrepreneurial energy and political engagement.

Crafting Freedom is co-curated by New-York Historical’s Vice President and Museum Director Margi Hofer, potter and Commeraw researcher Mark Shapiro, and Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Women’s History and Public History Allison Robinson. Leslie M. Harris, professor of history and African American studies at Northwestern University, served as scholarly advisor. 

Support

Major support for Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw is provided by the Decorative Arts Trust and Emily and James Satloff. Exhibitions at New-York Historical are made possible by Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar Tang, the Saunders Trust for American History, the Evelyn & Seymour Neuman Fund, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. WNET is the media sponsor.

About the New-York Historical Society
Experience 400 years of history through groundbreaking exhibitions, immersive films, and thought-provoking conversations among renowned historians and public figures at the New-York Historical Society, New York’s first museum. A great destination for history since 1804, the Museum and the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library convey the stories of the city and nation’s diverse populations, expanding our understanding of who we are as Americans and how we came to be. Ever-rising to the challenge of bringing little or unknown histories to light, New-York Historical will soon inaugurate a new annex housing its Academy for American Democracy as well as the American LGBTQ+ Museum. These latest efforts to help forge the future by documenting the past join New-York Historical’s DiMenna Children’s History Museum and Center for Women’s History. Digital exhibitions, apps, and our For the Ages podcast make it possible for visitors everywhere to dive more deeply into history. Connect with us at nyhistory.org or at @nyhistory on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Tumblr.

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NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY TO TRACE THE RISE OF ANTI-SEMITISM IN GERMANY THROUGH THE PAINFUL POWER OF NAZI PROPAGANDA IMAGES

NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY TO TRACE THE RISE OF ANTI-SEMITISM IN GERMANY THROUGH THE PAINFUL POWER OF NAZI PROPAGANDA IMAGES Anti-Semitism 1919–1939 On View April 12 – July 31, 2016 New York, NY, February 17, 2016 – At a time of continuing anti-Semitic propaganda and attacks against Jewish communities in Europe and elsewhere, the New-York Historical Society will present a powerful exhibition that examines the rise of a culture of hatred. On view April 12 through July 31, Anti-Semitism 1919–1939 will trace the gradual and deliberate indoctrination of German citizens into active hatred of Jews through the ubiquitous words and images seen daily. The exhibition will feature more than 50 objects dating from the Interwar years, drawn from the collection of The Museum of World War II in Boston, Massachusetts. Included will be examples of anti-Semitic books and signs, announcements of mass meetings that excluded Jews, the original outline of a 1939 speech by Adolf Hitler to the Reichstag about the “Jewish Question,” and a printing of the Nuremberg Laws denying Jews the basic rights of citizens that laid the legal foundation for the Holocaust. Many objects on display will be disturbing to view, but they serve to convey the dangers of ignoring or discounting anti-Semitic discourse and underestimating the impact of hateful propaganda and religious intolerance more generally—a lesson of particular importance for the 200,000 New York City public school students who learn history with New-York Historical each year. The exhibition will also help explain the connection between anti-Semitism in Europe and the history of New York City and America, as those who fled Nazism deeply impacted American cultural, educational, and scientific institutions. “Anti-Semitism is among the most harrowing topics of 20th-century history,” said Dr. Louise Mirrer, President and CEO, New-York Historical Society. “While it is painful to see artifacts from a culture of hatred, understanding how such a horrifying moment in history developed is fundamental to helping us better grasp current events. The moral questions raised by the rise of Nazism in Germany transcend geographical and temporal boundaries, and it is the responsibility of institutions like ours to educate and inspire contemporary audiences to reflect on the roles and responsibilities of individuals, organizations, and nations when confronted with injustice. In addition, anti-Semitism is essential to the history of our city, as New York was so drastically changed by the influx of Europeans escaping Nazism. ” Historical Background of the Exhibition Long before Adolf Hitler rose to power, anti-Semitism plagued Europe. In Germany, the punitive 1919 peace agreement ending World War I exacerbated existing prejudices. Some people began to blame the Bolsheviks and “the Jews” for Germany’s forced demilitarization, its exorbitant reparations payments to the victorious Allied Powers, and the collapse of its economy. As the Nazi Party rose to power, it began a long campaign of indoctrinating German citizens with violent messages of hate through the widespread dissemination of anti-Semitic propaganda. After consolidating its rule, it passed the Nuremberg Laws, systematically codifying anti-Semitism. Among these measures was the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor, forbidding marriages and extramarital relations between Jews and non-Jews. In a 1938–39 questionnaire on view in the exhibition, Helga Fräenkel sought permission to marry the father of her children. The request was denied because she was Jewish. The Nazi leadership passed increasingly harsh anti-Semitic laws that restricted the movement and lives of Jews. As shown through signs on view in the exhibition, Jews were forbidden to use the same park benches as their fellow German citizens who had been defined as “Aryans” and eventually were forbidden altogether from entering parks. These actions normalized the steadily mounting physical violence against Jews and destruction of their property, leading to their forced relocation to concentration and death camps, and ultimately to Hitler’s “Final Solution” to the “Jewish Problem”—the murder of six million European Jews. Under the Nazi Regime, anti-Semitism penetrated every aspect of life, and even children’s books were not immune from its reach. Never Trust a Fox on the Green Heath and Never Trust a Jew by His Oath (1936) was an anti-Semitic children’s book printed by Julius Streicher’s publishing house. The author, Elvira Bauer, was 21 when she wrote this book. In The Jew as Destroyer of the Race (1934), one of the most virulent anti-Semitic books printed, “Aryan” women were warned about the dangers of associating with Jews. Both of these books will be on view in the exhibition. Exhibition Publication & Public Programming The exhibition will be accompanied by a companion book with a foreword by Dr. Louise Mirrer, President and CEO, New-York Historical Society. To help visitors understand the exhibition and share their feelings about the content of the show, New-York Historical has developed educational and public programs to accompany the exhibition. Visiting middle and high school students will split their time in the gallery, where they will trace the rise of anti-Semitism in Germany, and the classroom, where they will use items from the Library collection to follow the parallel rise of anti-Semitism in the U.S. and its ramifications. New-York Historical is also partnering with Facing History and Ourselves, an international educational and professional development organization, on a full-day workshop for teachers on April 19. On Thursday, May 26, Abraham Foxman, world-renowned as a leader in the fight against anti-Semitism, bigotry, and discrimination, will speak at New-York Historical about the lessons he’s learned from 50 years of fighting anti-Semitism and hate speech. As part of New-York Historical’s “Justice in Film” series, Forbidden Games (1952), a French film that follows a young girl orphaned by Nazi airstrikes, and Europa Europa (1990), a German film about a Jewish boy posing as a German orphan in WWII Europe, will be shown this spring. Anti-Semitism 1919–1939 is made possible by support provided by the Blavatnik Family Foundation, the Charina Endowment Fund, the Barbara K. and Ira A. Lipman Family, Ed and Sandy Meyer, Ann and Andrew Tisch, Pam and Scott Schafler, the David Berg Foundation, Martin J. Gross, Ruth and Sid Lapidus, Martin Lewis and Diane Brandt, Cheryl and Glen Lewy, and Tamar J. Weiss. About the New-York Historical Society The New-York Historical Society, one of America’s preeminent cultural institutions, is dedicated to fostering research and presenting history and art exhibitions and public programs that reveal the dynamism of history and its influence on the world of today. Founded in 1804, New-York Historical has a mission to explore the richly layered history of New York City and State and the country, and to serve as a national forum for the discussion of issues surrounding the making and meaning of history. #fineartmagazine