On Jun 18, 2007, at 5:29 PM, Anita Wills wrote:

> The picture is a depication of an event, wouldn't you say?
Well, no, that's not always or even most of the time the case. A  
photograph is supposedly a snapshot in time, and a depiction of an  
event, but that can be staged. Portraiture was often put together to  
project an image of power and the old "Look at what I am" statement.

> Do you believe he put slaves in the picture just for the fun of it?
They're put in as depictions of stature for the owners, and as  
commonplace background when not intended as anything projecting  
power. Often the raw canvas that became portraits of the rich and  
powerful were finished apart from the faces before the painter ever  
saw the subject. Draw a background, add a person in high style  
clothing and at the jobsite, add the face and presto, here's your  
bill. If I remember correctly, the subjects could choose the  
backgrounds and clothing from a fairly limited set.

> You and I both know that mining ore was not a white mans' job in  
> Colonial Virginia.
It was for both. Hot, dirty, dangerous, yes, but not solely the  
province of one or another. The unruly Irish were often miners and  
much lamented for their boisterous behavior.

Lyle Browning


>
> Anita
>
>
>> From: Mary Moyars-Johnson <[log in to unmask]>
>> Reply-To: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia  
>> history              <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: George Washington and Iron Ore
>> Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 04:44:07 -0400
>>
>> Note that the picture in the article is labeled "conjectured" and  
>> is  by Sidney King, a man noted for his careful research, but a  
>> man who  was born in the 20th century.
>>
>>
>> Mary Moyars-Johnson  (MMJ)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Jun 18, 2007, at 1:29 AM, Anita Wills wrote:
>>
>>> Here is an interesting link to an article about George  
>>> Washington,  and the wealth he and his family enjoyed from Iron  
>>> Ore. If you will  notice on the picture, there are slaves in the  
>>> background working  the mines. When Augustine Washington Senior  
>>> died, he divided his  estate among his six sons.
>>>
>>> Anita
>>>
>>> George Washington and Iron Ore Wealth
>>> http://www.glue.umd.edu/~gdouglas/ironores/pages/georgew.html
>>>
>>> _________________________________________________________________
>>> Don’t miss your chance to WIN $10,000 and other great prizes  
>>> from  Microsoft Office Live http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/ 
>>> aub0540003042mrt/ direct/01/
>
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