On February 2, 2017, Margaret Humphreys spoke by invitation at the Nasher Museum of Art, at Duke University. Her presentation, "Under the Silhouette: African Americans in Harper's Weekly, 1861-1865," was given in conjunction with the museum’s exhibit of works by artist Kara Walker, called “Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated)”.
Walker’s portfolio is a series of prints featuring black silhouettes layered over historic illustrations, first published in Harper’s Weekly and collected in Harper’s “Pictorial History of the Civil War.” Dr. Humphreys, whose books are often illustrated with drawings from Harper’s Weekly, used many other Harper’s images in her talk at the museum, to illuminate the historic context of Harper's Weekly, its politics, and the style of art and humor found in the magazine’s illustrations and cartoons during the Civil War years.
Nasher Museum of Art
"Under the Silhouette: African Americans in Harper's Weekly, 1861-1865"
February, 2017