Art of Darkness

Shows how the slaves on Caribbean plantations contributed to the cultural heritage of the British empire by providing their masters with the wealth to patronize renowned institutions such as the Tate Gallery and British Museum. Surveys the art of the period, which romanticized the life of blacks on the plantations. Examines a series of prints by Hogarth, one of the few artists of the era to be sensitive to the realities hidden behind the romantic portraits of black slaves.