The Amistad Center for Art & Culture Collection

The Amistad Center's collection encompasses 7,000 objects. The collection consists of original paintings and sculpture; artifacts; and historical documents including letters, slave contracts, slave narratives, wanted posters, maps and broadsides dating back from the 17th century. The collection also houses an extensive group of newspapers, lithographs, and political cartoons. Memorabilia, rare books and over 2,500 photographs of slave life, turn-of-the-century black communities, along with individual portraits chronicle more than 300 years of history. Unsurpassed by any other institution in New England, and one of the finest of its kind in the world, the collection's major subject areas include: slavery in the U.S.; the Abolitionist movement; the Civil War and Emancipation; the Reconstruction era; Black Resistance; and the Civil Rights movement. Other areas of interest include, but are not limited to: major artistic, literary, and political figures; the Black church; military participation; satire; and stereotypical commentary. Recent Acquisitions include: Carrie Mae Weems' set of china plates, Commemorating and beautiful c-print entitled, May Flowers from May Days Long Forgotten, A Man by Charley Palmer and a number of photographs from Sheila Pree Brights Young Americans series.