Elihu Yale seated at table with the Second Duke of Devonshire and Lord James Cavendish, a circa-1708 group portrait. The work, which pictures the Yale University namesake and an enslaved child, was recently returned to public display at a campus museum following a period of technical analysis that included an attempt to identify the child. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1926.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – An early 18th-century painting depicting Yale University’s namesake with an enslaved Black child has been returned to public display at one of its museums even as art experts investigate its origins and campus discussions about the school’s ties to slavery continue.
