A new exhibit at the University of Oregon’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History highlights portraits of Oregon’s Black pioneers.
Letitia Carson arrived here on the Oregon Trail in 1845. She married an Irish immigrant and they settled in Benton County. When her husband died, Carson, a former slave, had to sue to keep their homestead.
Her portrait is one of 10 featured in ‘ReEnvisioned: Contemporary Portraits of Our Black Ancestors,’ by Portland artist Jeremy Okai Davis.
“When you think of the history of Oregon, it’s really easy to think of the pioneers coming across on the Oregon Trail–white people who settled the area– and that’s just not the full story,” said the museum’s marketing and communications specialist, Lexie Briggs. “At the museum we’re interested in telling the full story and specifically highlighting places where common histories might have misstepped in the past or ignored.”
Briggs said the portraits have a sort of pixilated look to the skin tones. She said that’s something the artist has talked about.
“Jeremy talks about how people are not all one color. People are not all one thing,” she said. “And that really helps us to sort of bridge the gap between this traditional photo-realistic portraiture and looking at people with the full complexity of their full lives.”
She said the portraits were originally commissioned by the Salem Art Association at the Bush House, named for Asahel Bush, who was known for his racist views and actions.
“One of the things they’ve focused on doing is to bring to light stories that may not have been told and that Bush was actively involved in suppressing during his day,” Briggs said.
The exhibit at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History opens this weekend, for Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend and continues through Juneteenth.
There is an artist talk with Jeremy Okai Davis on Feb. 26.
