# The Captive Slave (Ira Aldridge)

**John Philip Simpson** (English, 1782–1847)  
1827  
Oil on canvas  
127 × 101.5 cm (50 × 40 in.); Framed: 167.1 × 141.7 cm (65 3/4 × 55 3/4 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 2008.188. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/193664).

## About this work

This painting by John Philip Simpson is both a powerful abolitionist statement and a striking portrait of the celebrated Shakespearean actor Ira Aldridge. A freeborn American, Aldridge became the first Black man to play Othello on the London stage in 1833. Simpson’s painting highlights Aldridge’s gifts of expression as a tragic actor.

_Text from the Art Institute of Chicago._

John Philip Simpson painted this in 1827, aged 45. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

Painting of a dark-skinned man seated and wearing a red open-necked tunic. He looks up to the right. His wrists are shackled and a large chain rests at his right, running down the bench he sits upon.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [John Philip Simpson](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/john-philip-simpson)

English, 1782–1847

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: England
- The artist was 45
- Real size: about 50 × 40 in (127 × 101 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 30 × 40 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 19th century
- Subjects: men, slavery, red (color), portraits: male subject, portraits: African subject, portraits, man, chains
- Colour: red
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/347.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/347/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-captive-slave-ira-aldridge-aic-193664).