Join us from the comfort of your own home for our virtual lecture series. Whittier Birthplace Virtual Lectures will take place over Zoom. Prior registration is required.
Suggest donation: $10/household
Speakers: Emily Esser, art historian
Topic: "In Behalf of Oppressed Humanity:" The Life and Works of Deacon Robert Peckham, Portrait Painter
DESCRIPTION - The early American artist Deacon Robert Peckham is best-known for his charming and likeable paintings, featured in museums across New England. But he left a historical impact beyond most of his peers. Through his portraits of like-minded friends, family, and neighbors, alongside historical records and newspaper ads, we can rebuild a visual legacy of Peckham's life, including his fight for temperance, the end of slavery, and free and fair education. And now, for the first time, we can read Peckham’s beliefs in his own handwriting: his impassioned letters to President and Representative John Quincy Adams.