29 October—Assuming you actually want to see the Verelst and Kaphar paintings I wrote about in yesterday’s essay, here they are, along with one by James Worsdale, of Elihu Yale with his slave, also in Yale’s Center for British Art (but not on display), contemporary with the Verelst; and another, a somewhat smaller version of the Verelst, oil on copper, by an unknown artist, not on display in the Yale University Art Gallery.

The early 18^th-century portraits aren’t to my taste. But I’m being unkind, because they’re merely of their time and probably need cleaning. The early 21^st-century iteration of the Verelst by Kaphar, on the other hand, is certainly of its time and rather more to my taste. And clearly representative of Kaphar’s views on race and politics as well as of his innovative talent.

Incidentally, Yale says the old portraits are in the public domain; and I’ll cop to fair use for reproducing the Kaphar, which isn’t a trompe l’oeil work and must have been a real bitch to hang . . .