MEDIA
Black women with children and a lone Black man sit on benches awaiitng the auction block
Credit: Heinz Family Collection
Original Author: Eyre Crowe
Created: 1861
Medium: Oil on canvas

Slaves Waiting for Sale, Richmond, Virginia

Nine enslaved African Americans, including three children, sit on benches in a slave salesroom in Richmond and await the moment they will be put on an auction block and sold. Eyre Crowe, an English artist, made this painting, titled Slaves Waiting for Sale, after witnessing such a scene on March 3, 1853. This painting, along with another titled After the Sale: Slaves Going South, were later exhibited in Great Britain.