Verified source brief
Story of enslaved boy featured in 1748 Joshua Reynolds portrait emerges in new study
Exclusive: Until now nothing was known about ‘Jersey’, depicted with naval officer, but research raises hopes he may have won freedom For hundreds of years, he was known only as “Jersey”, an enslaved boy of about 11 rendered in oil on canvas by the great 18th-century portrait painter Sir Joshua Reynolds. But now the life of the youngster, believed to be Reynolds’ earliest depiction of a person of colour, has begun to emerge, thanks to a research project. Continue reading...
Source brief
Exclusive: Until now nothing was known about ‘Jersey’, depicted with naval officer, but research raises hopes he may have won freedom For hundreds of years, he was known only as “Jersey”, an enslaved boy of about 11 rendered in oil on canvas by the great 18th-century portrait painter Sir Joshua Reynolds. But now the life of the youngster, believed to be Reynolds’ earliest depiction of a person of colour, has begun to emerge, thanks to a research project. Continue reading…
Original source
This is a source-linked brief from The Guardian. Read the original item at Story of enslaved boy featured in 1748 Joshua Reynolds portrait emerges in new study.
Attribution
VINI publishes the headline, source metadata, short feed summary, topic labels, and outbound source link for reader discovery. The full article remains with the original publisher.
- Published by source: 2026-05-08T04:00:36+00:00
This source-linked brief summarizes publisher-provided metadata and links to the original report. VINI does not republish third-party article bodies without rights clearance. 1 source listed.
Source links
- Story of enslaved boy featured in 1748 Joshua Reynolds portrait emerges in new studyThe Guardian - 2026-05-08T04:00:36+00:00
Reader comments
Moderated discussion
Comments are open to authenticated approved accounts, screened for spam and abuse, and published only after newsroom moderation unless editors change the story control.