West Side Rag
  • TOP NEWS
  • OPEN/CLOSED
  • FOOD
  • SCHOOLS
  • OUTDOORS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • ART & CULTURE
  • POLITICS
  • COLUMNS
  • CRIME
  • HISTORY
  • ABSURDITY
  • ABOUT US
    • OUR STORY
    • CONTRIBUTORS
    • CONTACT
West Side Rag
No Result
View All Result
SUPPORT THE RAG

Search the site

No Result
View All Result
Get WSR FREE in your inbox
SUPPORT THE RAG

‘Black Dolls’ Opens at New-York Historical Society Combining Art, History, and Play

February 26, 2022 | 7:18 AM
in ART, HISTORY, NEWS
4
Exquisite embroidery and lace work.

Photographs and text by Peggy Taylor

“If they had been given paint brushes they could have become painters; if they had been given clay, they could have become sculptors; if they had been taught to read and write, they could have become writers. They were given cast-off sewing basket scraps and with those they expressed their immense creativity.”

That is how Dominique Jean-Louis, co-curator of the New-York Historical Society’s fascinating Black Dolls exhibit describes the unsung, enslaved Black women whose dolls are on display from February 25 through June 5, 2022.

A view of the 110-piece Collection.

The exhibit showcases 110 handmade dolls from the private collection of Deborah Neff. There are Black dolls by the enslaved, Black dolls by runaways, Black dolls by Black men, Black dolls by white abolitionists, Black dolls by white manufacturers, Black dolls by Black manufacturers, Black dolls conjoined at the waist with white dolls, Black dolls owned by white children, Black dolls owned by Black children, Black dolls designed to foster self-esteem, and finally Black dolls created by the mother of our former First Lady, Chirlane McCray. Add to this dolls by novices and dolls by expert doll makers, and you end up with a rich and wide-ranging display.

A fugitive from slavery wearing a three-pronged slave collar around his neck. Doll made by Cynthia Hill, a fervent abolitionist from Providence, Rhode Island, which was a hotbed of abolitionist activity. Anti-slavery societies were founded in the 1830s.

The exhibition follow the dolls’ evolution throughout different periods of American History—slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights era and finally the 1990s. And throughout it all we admire the ingenuity that went into their creations as the women used scraps of cloth, ribbon and lace, or old socks, stuffed with wool, cotton, or sawdust, to express themselves and the world around them.

But the exhibit doesn’t end with the dolls. The Museum supplements the Neff Collection with period photographs, textiles, books, games, sewing tools, and furnishings, which offer vital historical context and increase the number of objects displayed to 200.

Harriet Jacobs, (1813-1897)a runaway, crafted these dolls for the family of Writer Nathan Parker Willis whose children passed them down. Several generations cherished and played with the heirlooms and updated the dolls’ outfits and accessories. Circa 1850-60.

From a different collection, there are three dolls made by Harriet Jacobs, a runaway who made the dolls between 1850-1860 for the white children of the Willis family of New York, where she worked after her escape. In her autobiography published in 1861, she recounts her desperate flight from slavery and her years spent in hiding in the garret of her aunt’s house where she used sewing to relieve her loneliness and fear. A copy of Jacobs’ “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” is on view.

Doll in gentlemen‘s topcoat in Milton Massachusetts sold at abolitionist fundraising fairs to support Union soldiers during the Civil War. Many abolitionist families encouraged their children to play with dolls like this to help instill humanitarian values.

Three dolls by the white abolitionist, Cynthia Walker Hill, stand out as they depict Black men, including Frederick Douglass, and were sold to help support the abolitionists’ cause. Their motto: “May the points of our needles prick the slaveholder’s conscience.”

The Black handyman Leo Moss transformed this originally white doll into a Black doll, using paper-mâché and tinting the skin with boot dye.

Three dolls from the 1930s were made by Leo Moss, a Black handyman in Macon, Georgia, who repurposed commercial white dolls by remodeling their hair, features, and facial expressions and tinting their skin with boot dye until they resembled himself, family members, or neighbors.

Dolls which at first glance might seem to be stereotypes turn out to counter caricature when one considers the skill in design, the needlework and the craftsmanship lavished on their outfits. The dolls are wide-ranging, depicting boys and girls and men and women. As Neff was once quoted as saying: “You can think of their diversity, their plurality, as itself a powerful response to a stereotype.”

Addy Walker, The American Girl’s first historical Black character. Launched in 1993.

Also on view is Addy Walker, the first Black character created by American Girl and which it added to its collection in 1993 to educate children about American slavery and emancipation. Addy’s braided hair and West African cowrie shell necklace reflect Black culture, the cowrie shell having belonged to her African-born great-great-great grandmother. Addy is accompanied by her own cloth doll, Ida Bean, and a quilt modeled after an 1854 family album quilt by Black quilter Sarah Ann Wilson.

The exhibition ends with a slideshow featuring contemporary doll collectors, including artist Betye Saar, as Black doll collectors continue to forge communities, both in person and online, to celebrate their shared interest.

Black Dolls is curated by Margi Hofer, vice president and museum director, and Dominique Jean-Louis, associate curator.

Share this article:
SUPPORT THE RAG
guest

guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

4 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Eva Y.
Eva Y.
3 years ago

I came to this country from Europe in 1940. I was 8 and I had never seen a Black person. I thought that the different shades of brown skin were beautiful. I asked for a brown skinned baby doll, but my parents couldn’t find one. I’m happy to say that they are now available.

2
Reply
Ellen Massey
Ellen Massey
3 years ago

The exhibit had photos next to Leo Moss’s dolls of cat-scans and x-rays of the dolls. These revealed the layers of fabric he used to change the size and shape of the white dolls he came upon, and one cat-scan even revealed a long-defunct music box inside one of the dolls!

2
Reply
Stacy Holtzer
Stacy Holtzer
3 years ago

You are fantastic Peggy. U r Soo talented. God bless u.

2
Reply
PEGGY TAYLOR
PEGGY TAYLOR
3 years ago
Reply to  Stacy Holtzer

Thank you, Stacey!

2
Reply

YOU MIGHT LIKE...

FOOD

Here’s the UWS Dish: Covacha’s Flautas

June 23, 2025 | 8:11 AM
Here Is How Upper West Siders Voted in the 2024 Presidential Election: Data
NEWS

Monday Bulletin: Yacht Crash on Hudson River Injures Dozens; Teen Hit by Lightning in Central Park Speaks Out; Former Columbia Student Released by ICE; Tuesday’s UWS Primary Details

June 23, 2025 | 8:04 AM
Previous Post

Upper West Side’s Top Cops Talk Thefts Uptick, Drop in Traffic Enforcement

Next Post

Meet the Audiologist: What’s New In Hearing Aids, March 1, 6:00-7:30PM

this week's events image
Next Post
Meet the Audiologist: What’s New In Hearing Aids, March 1, 6:00-7:30PM

Meet the Audiologist: What’s New In Hearing Aids, March 1, 6:00-7:30PM

Weekend Column: An Upper West Sider’s Field of Dreams

Weekend Column: An Upper West Sider's Field of Dreams

THERE’S A REASON THE 1 TRAIN HAS BEEN UNNATURALLY STEAMY THIS SUMMER

Upper West Sider's Death Spurs MTA Plan to Test Subway Platform Barriers at Three Stations, Sources Say

  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • NEWSLETTER
  • WSR MERCH!
  • ADVERTISE
  • EVENTS
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • TERMS OF USE
  • SITE MAP
Site design by RLDGROUP

© 2025 West Side Rag | All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • TOP NEWS
  • THIS WEEK’S EVENTS
  • OPEN/CLOSED
  • FOOD
  • SCHOOLS
  • OUTDOORS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • ART & CULTURE
  • POLITICS
  • COLUMNS
  • CRIME
  • HISTORY
  • ABSURDITY
  • ABOUT
    • OUR STORY
    • CONTRIBUTORS
    • CONTACT US
  • WSR SHOP

© 2025 West Side Rag | All rights reserved.