Museums Repatriate Enslaved Artist's Work

The Milwaukee Art Museum has restituted two historic stoneware jars crafted by the enslaved artist David Drake to his descendants. This action aligns with a broader movement of cultural institutions returning Drake's significant works to his family, who are actively seeking to reclaim their ancestral heritage.

Drake created ambitious stoneware jars in South Carolina during the 1800s, inscribing them with his name and often poems, defying anti-literacy laws. The Milwaukee museum repurchased one of the returned jars, dated 1855, and will display it alongside the second, unsigned jar, which remains on loan from the family. This arrangement mirrors a similar 2025 restitution by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Museum Director Kim Sajet facilitated the agreement, emphasizing its role in building community trust and continuing the conversation around "The Dave Project." The museum plans to use Drake's story and the jars to engage a wider audience, particularly through educational programs for Milwaukee Public Schools. Drake is notable as one of the few enslaved American artists whose biography is well-documented.

The family's efforts gained momentum after a 2021 auction where a poem-jar by Drake sold for $1.56 million. The Dave the Potter Legacy Trust was established to pursue restitution. Despite some institutions readily cooperating, others have refused or delayed engagement, while legal representatives anticipate further restitutions in October.