A research project at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) has gained widespread media attention following the identification of both the artist and subject of a rare 18th-century portrait of a Black woman.
Monique Johnson, PhD, who is a Manager of Faculty Governance & Policy in the Office of the Dean at York University’s School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD), contributed to the research during her time as interim assistant curator of European art at the AGO.
“I’m trained as a scholar of portraiture, and Eleonora Susette’s portrait is a fascinating, beautiful and powerful painting that I was privileged to have lived with throughout the research during my tenure at the AGO,” says Johnson. “Associate Curator Adam Levine and I worked with local and international colleagues and collaborators whose contributions yielded both probing questions and incredible answers.”
The painting, Portrait of Eleonora Susette (1775), was acquired by the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2020 without a confirmed artist or subject and was originally titled Portrait of a Lady Holding an Orange Blossom.
Depicting a young Black woman dressed in fine clothing and holding an orange blossom, the work stood out within the gallery’s European collection for its rare portrayal of a Black subject in 18th-century European portraiture, even as key details about its origins remained unknown.
Over several years, researchers worked to better understand the painting, consulting experts in fashion history, botany, and colonial history, while also sharing their process publicly through the Portrait of Possibilities podcast.
Identifying the Artist and Subject
A major breakthrough came when Johnson identified the partial signature on the painting as belonging to Jeremias Schultz, a Berlin-born artist who worked in the Netherlands. This finding helped narrow the scope of the investigation and provided a clearer direction for the research.
The subject was later identified as Eleonora Susette, an enslaved young woman born around 1756 in Berbice, a Dutch colony in present-day Guyana.
Archival records revealed that she was brought to Amsterdam in the 1770s and later returned to Berbice, tracing a transatlantic journey shaped by the realities of the Dutch colonial system.
While many details of Eleonora Susette’s life remain unknown, the work continues to raise questions about representation, identity and the broader context in which it was created.
“The response to the portrait and the research has been so gratifying to witness.” says Johnson. “We hope to learn more about Eleonora Susette's life.”
The discovery has drawn significant media attention, with coverage in outlets including The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, CBC, Artforum and The Art Newspaper.
The painting is now on view at the AGO.
Artwork credit: Jeremias Schultz. Portrait of Eleonora Susette, 1775. Oil on canvas, Overall: 80 × 69.2 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Purchase, with funds from the European Curatorial Committee, 2020. Photo © AGO. 2019/2437