Portrait of Absalom Jones, 1810

This portrait was completed eight years after Rev. Absalom Jones was ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church by Bishop William White, a white European American clergyman at Christ Church. Jones would become the first Black American priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. Prior to his death eight years after the completion of this portrait, Jones would assist in the establishment of a school, the Female Benevolent Society, and the African Friendly Society.

Delaware Art Museum, Gift of Absalom Jones School, 1971.

Title: Portrait of Absalom Jones, 1810
Date: 1810
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Object Information: Oil on paper mounted to board, 30 x 25 inches.
Repository: Delaware Art Museum.

Description:
This half-length portrait of the Reverend Absalom Jones depicts a man of dignity in his ecclesiastical robes, with Bible in hand. Born enslaved in 1746 and manumitted in 1784, the Reverend Jones co-founded the Free African Society and the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas. Bishop William White ordained Absalom Jones a deacon in 1795 and a priest in 1802. The portrait was painted by Raphaelle Peale, son of the prominent Philadelphia artist Charles Willson Peale.