In historic move, MFA Boston returns works by 19th-century enslaved artist David Drake to his heirs

Jori Finkel, The Art Newspaper

The terms of the restitution of the two ceramic pots have been cast in the mould of Nazi war-loot agreements

In a very rare and likely precedent-setting agreement, the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) Boston has agreed to return two works from 1857 by the Black potter David Drake (around 1800-around 1870), who made his ambitious jars while enslaved, to his present-day descendants.

By the terms of the contract, one of those vessels will remain on loan to the museum for at least two years. The other—a masterpiece known as the “Poem Jar”—has been purchased back by the museum from the heirs for an undisclosed sum. Now the work comes with “a certificate of ethical ownership”.

“In achieving this resolution, the MFA recognises that Drake was deprived of his creations involuntarily and without compensation,” a museum spokesperson said in a statement. “This marks the first time that the museum has resolved an ownership claim for works of art that were wrongfully taken under the conditions of slavery in the 19th-century US.”

Learn why the lawyer representing Drake’s dependents thinks this is “groundbreaking.“

Discover more artists in our Special Exhibits Galleries.

More news like this.