“John Brown’s Blessing” at the New York Historical Society is almost life-size. In the painting, Brown has been convicted of treason, first-degree murder and inciting an insurrection among slaves; he now prepares to die. Brown stands patiently, almost angelically, as an African-American mother offers her child to him for blessing. The mother kneels in three-quarter view, her white blouse hanging down, revealing her beautiful chocolate-colored back. This is the most seductive brown color I’ve seen in art — as if to explain: “John Brown died to save this precious color.” Behind the woman are two white children, because Brown sacrificed himself for all of us, not just African-Americans. Brown’s eyes, lowered in benediction, give him the look of a shy 5 year old.
To the left of the martyr is a military detail, led by an officer with an enormous mustache who seems to have escaped a Gilbert and Sullivan musical. “How absurd is the law!” exclaims Noble, in symbology.
